Kabul-returned Bengalis recount turbulence, some want to go back

KOLKATA: It was an uncertain time for many Bengal residents who tried to escape Afghanistan after the Taliban captured Kabul on August 15, 2021.
A year later, the memories of being stuck in a war-torn country haunt some while a few do not want to remember those times. There are others who are still struggling to get work after a year and given a chance, some would not mind returning to Kabul for work.
Azhar Haque, a resident of Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road — who worked with a NGO there in Afghanistan for 25 months — still cannot forget the harrowing scene unfolding at the Kabul International Airport on August 16, when thousands thronged the airport in desperation and panic to flee the country.
Azhar, too, was at the airport for his flight but with the commercial flight grounded, he was forced to return after two hours of bedlam.
“The next 14 days felt like 14 months. I shifted a few places, lived with an Afghan family and managed to put my name in the list of people the United Nations would evacuate from Kabul. After three failed attempts, we could finally manage to leave Afghanistan. I was evacuated to Kazakhstan and I reached Kolkata on August 30, 2021 with one pair of clothes and two of my cameras,” he recounts.
Tamal Bhattacharya, a resident of Nimta in North Dum Dum, used to work at Kardan International School in Kabul. Currently, he works as a math and physics teacher at an international school in Mongolia. “I applied for this job when I was in Kabul. I have been working in Mongolia since last September and am leading a peaceful life,” said Bhattacharya, adding that, “I don’t want to talk about Afghanistan or Kabul because last time the reaction I got from the people when I said what I saw was distressing.”
People from the Hills —Darjeeling and Kurseong — who returned to the state a year ago — are struggling to sustain their families and are waiting for the companies to call them back to work . Chandra Kumar Thapa of Aloobari, Lamba Dara and Rajesh Thapa, Dali in Darjeeling are among those who continue to harbour their dreams of working abroad due to lack of opportunities in the Hills. Chandra Kumar and Rajesh were security guards at the Canadian embassy in Kabul but are now living on their army pension.
“There seems to be a glimmer of hope that we have received a no objection certificate from the company in Kabul and my husband is mulling the idea of going back,” said Bandana, Chandra Kumar’s wife.
Kishan Gurung, a resident of Naya Bazar in Kurseong, worked as a security guard in different cities after his return and is now currently coaching football to the kids in his hometown.
“It has been exactly a year since we have returned from Kabul. However, if I get a chance, I will go back,” he said.