Hasina Nasimi* had been counting down to 27 January 2025, the day she was booked on a flight with her husband and four children, to Denver, Colorado. Her brother, four sisters and mother were already there, rebuilding their lives after fleeing Afghanistan.
Nasimi’s father and brother were killed by the Taliban; her brother shot in 2018 because the family’s eldest son Mohammad had worked as a translator for American forces during the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. Since then, the family had received threats and lived cautiously. When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, they knew they had to leave.
