CHICAGO — A year ago, former Afghan soldiers Rahimullah Zaland and Khan Madin Ashana fled their home country as the United States withdrew the last of its troops in dramatic airlifts in the final weeks of August. They spent months traveling separately through different countries, looking for a safe haven before landing in Chicago.
“When I came here to Chicago, I was not used to the environment because this place was really cold,” Zaland said. “I arrived here in the winter; it was really difficult for me to manage my life here in the beginning. I had to solve so many personal problems in the first two months.”
The soldiers turned refugees were among the tens of thousands of Afghan citizens who left the country as the United States evacuated more than 120,000 people, including Afghans, U.S. soldiers and American citizens, in its final days in the war-torn country. After 20 years, the final exit from Afghanistan ended America’s longest war but was deemed a failure by many as the Taliban regained control of the country.
