'I needed to get out': Delaware County teacher helps former student and family out of Afghanistan
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The last remaining U.S. troops have left Afghanistan after 20 years.
Meanwhile, a Delaware County teacher is being credited with helping get a former student and his family safely out of Afghanistan, using the power of social media.
"Kabul wasn’t supposed to fall. It fell incredibly fast and the moment it fell, my only goal was to get my family out," explained Amir Sidiqi.
The 33-year-old, born in the U.S. to an 82-year-old Afghan father, headed to the airport with his wife and young daughter.
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"Why did you think you needed to leave Afghanistan?" asked FOX 29’s Jeff Cole.
"I was informed by a Department of Justice official I needed to get out. If I wanted to get out, now was the time," replied Sidiqi.
Sidiqi spent 11 years in Afghanistan working various jobs, some with ties to the U.S. His first attempts to get in the airport failed.
"We had to walk past a lot of dead bodies. Witness some people being killed, which is not something you want to do, especially with a child not even two," Sidiqi explained.
At about the same time, his former Strath Haven High School English teacher, Kevin Haney, contacted him through social media, asking if he could help.
Sidiqi asked only for prayers.
"I immediately threw it on social media and asked for some prayers from friends and family and I was lucky enough the right person picked up the post and was able to help Amir.
That person was one of Haney’s long-time Southwest Philadelphia buddies, who works for the U.S. State Department and was in Afghanistan. He helped get Amir and his family on a plane last week and, later, Amir came by for a reunion with his former teacher captured on his home security camera.
"Tears, great reunion. It was just extraordinary," Haney commented.
Meanwhile, Sidiqi is not done with the land of his father’s birth.
"As soon as possible, I’ll try to get back in to see what we can do to help fix it," Amir remarked.
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