ELK GROVE, Calif. — The Sacramento area is home to many immigrant communities, including those from Afghanistan. The developments in their home country are hitting some hard.
The Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan two weeks before the U.S. was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war. The insurgents stormed across the country, capturing all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the U.S. and its allies melted away.
Mahbooba Qadri, the owner of the Afghan restaurant Chopan Kabab in Elk Grove, says she hasn't been able to sleep because she's sick with worry.
"Right now, I'm not only worried about my family. I worry about all the people, all innocent people," Qadri said, adding things couldn't be worse for those she loves. "I call with my family last night. They say we have only food for two days."
Qadri says they gave her a sense of what it's like on the ground in Afghanistan.
"My cousin, she says because everybody run, you cannot find the car. It looks like the 3rd war start," Qadri said. "People are running. The woman is crying. Men are crying. She has five kids. If she is not working, What about the kids? What are the kids doing?"
And right now, there's very little she can do to help.
"Even right now, I cannot send them money," Qadri said. "The bank and everything are closed. We are living in 2021. We are not living a thousand years ago. But those people, their ideas are like a thousand years ago."
As Taliban forces take over, she hopes everyone will take action to relieve the suffering of her people.
"I hope please, all the world, I tell everybody, please help Afghanistan. Afghanistan is in a very bad situation. Please!" Qadri said.
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