An Afghan journalist is welcomed in Postindustrial America

Journalist Zubair Babakarkhail and his wife, Fatima, escaped from Afghanistan on Aug. 24 with their three children. 

After several failed attempts, they were able to enter Hamid Karzai International Airport, less than two days before a bombing there would kill U.S. service members and civilians.  

The withdrawal of American troops led to a crush of people desperate to flee the impending Taliban rule.

The Babakarkhails arrived in Virginia on Sept. 2, then were flown to Fort McCoy, an Army installation on 60,000 acres in Monroe County, Wis. 

Next, the Babakarkhails will pick a city to call home. 

Postindustrial is chronicling the family’s journey, and is part of a group raising funds to support them as they settle in a new country. To contribute, click here. 

And look for more updates by Zubair.

FORT MCCOY, Wis. — We arrived at this base a week ago, and there were a few rainy days. 

And now, it is a clear sky. There were some clouds earlier. My kids were watching the clouds moving and they were amazed. They were saying, “why couldn’t we see such clouds in Kabul?”

So I had to explain to them that Kabul was more polluted. The air was not clean. That’s why you could not see everything in the sky clearly

We are happy to be here. It’s peaceful. 

The roads are much cleaner than Kabul, and the food is getting better. There is free laundry, which we like the best. And I took my kids to the shopping center where they bought candies and jelly cookies. They were so happy. My little daughter was dancing on the road while walking back to our block.

There is no tension. There is no worry. There is no concern of being followed or being attacked or being arrested as it was in Kabul. 

No mail is coming here, but still we feel that we are totally free. We’ve got total freedom here. The behavior of the soldiers is great. Everyone tries to be so nice to us. 

I haven’t heard anyone calling any Afghan, a refugee. They are calling us guests. So this is all of what you need after trauma or after tragedy. 

So, we are happy to be here.