Mohammad Faizi, center, speaks during a news conference Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, in El Cajon, Calif. He and his family were visiting relatives in Afghanistan in August, and were forced to escape as the Taliban seized power. Several families who live in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon spoke to reporters Thursday for the first time since returning from Afghanistan, where they described their harrowing escape after the Taliban seized power. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
When Yousef's wife and their four children boarded a July 15 flight in San Diego to attend her brother's wedding in Afghanistan, they were looking forward to a month of family gatherings. It was long overdue — the coronavirus pandemic prevented them from travelling earlier.
Their return ticket was on August 15, two days before their children's school year began in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon.
But the Afghan Americans found themselves dodging gunfire and trying to force their way into the crowds of thousands ringing the airport in Kabul after Afghanistan's government collapsed and the Taliban seized power.
Yousef's wife and children were among eight families from El Cajon who were trapped after US troops raced to evacuate Americans and allies and then left the country. Yousef, who had stayed in California during his family's trip, asked that only his first name be used because he still has relatives in Afghanistan who could be at risk.
All but one of the families got out with the help of the Cajon Valley Union...
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