Kent family reunited after rescue from Afghanistan

KING COUNTY, Wash. — A Kent family is all together again after the mom and three children spent a terrifying month trying to get out of Afghanistan.

Applause greeted the Jabarkhail family when Mom and three kids under the age of 12 finally arrived home.

They were visiting family in Afghanistan when Kabul turned to chaos and they were trapped — despite the children being U.S. citizens and their Mom being a legal permanent resident.

We were asked not to show her face, in order to keep her remaining family in Afghanistan safe.

Former Army translator Jabarkhail waited alone at home in Kent, desperately trying to get them out.

“I’m celebrating this day. My family is back here, they are safe. It’s a lot for me. It’s the world for me,” he said.

Watching the chaos on TV, he worried they’d never get back home to Kent.

“I was feeling so sad. I was so upset, I had no idea what was going to happen with my family.”

The children are happy to be home after an experience no one wants any child to endure.

“Even my son said, Dad, I saw the Taliban on the road, they have long hair, they look pretty dangerous, they have guns, the real guns you know.”

The family was greeted by veterans who served in Afghanistan. They created Project Dynamo and Task Force Pineapple to get translators and others who worked with the Americans out. They didn’t know Jabarkhail until he contacted them nearly a month ago after seeing a newspaper story about their work.

“Fortunately we were able to get a plane out of Afghanistan, but this had taken a lot of work from a lot of people tied to this effort,” said Chris Franco, who is part of the effort.

“They’re the champions, they are the heroes, they saved an American family,” Jabarkhail said.

Project Dynamo and Task Force Pineapple are working to get hundreds more at risk of retribution out of Afghanistan

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