Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Life in Scotland for Afghan family
A CHARITY worker feared she and her family would die as they endured a terrifying ordeal trying to flee to safety from war-torn Afghanistan.
Frishta Matan remembers the desperate attempts to board a plane amid chaotic and frightening scenes in Kabul.
Shielding the ears of her 10-monthold baby from deafening gunfire, she witnessed the horror of a man being shot dead in front of the family who were in constant fear of a suicide bomb attack.
“At that time I thought ‘these are our last minutes. Everything will end here’,” she said.
Having finally escaped the country, the family aim to start a new life in Lewis where Frishta, 29, and her sister Farzana, 25, will continue to work for the Linda Norgrove Foundation.
They flew into Stornoway yesterday with Frishta’s husband Murtaza, 31, baby Kia and their brother Zaker.
Frishta has pledged to continue to work for the charity that helps women in Afghanistan get an education and jobs.
She also wants to help others leave the country, including her parents and two other brothers she had to leave behind.
Frishta and Farzana feared for their lives in their home country because they work with women and as they belong to the Hazara ethnic group, often targeted by the Taliban.
Their vulnerable situation was highlighted by John and Linda Norgrove who founded the charity in memory of their daughter Linda, who campaigned for education rights for Afghan women.
Linda was abducted in 2010 and killed by a grenade during a rescue operation by US forces.
The Norgroves raised the case with the UK Government which evacuated more than 15,000 people from Afghanistan following the Taliban taking control.