Afghan orphans escape Taliban to start new life in Australia

Australia is the land of new hope for 10 young orphans who survived a daring escape from the Taliban in a top-secret rescue mission. SEE THE AMAZING VIDEO.

Australia is the land of new hope for 10 young ­Afghan orphans who survived a daring escape from the clutches of the Taliban in a top-secret rescue mission to smuggle them to safety.

Alone and vulnerable, the children were marked for ­almost certain death at the hands of militants because their orphanage, Hope House, was operated by Australian charity Mahboba’s Promise.

The orphans posing together in Kabul before they made their way to Pakistan. Picture: Supplied

The group of 17, including orphans, staff and their children, board a plane to Australia from Islamabad, Pakistan. Picture: Supplied

When initial plans to evacuate more than 100 children and adults from Kabul by air were derailed by the deadly terror attack at the Hamid Karzai International Airport, a new strategy to get the ­orphans out of Afghanistan via land was hatched.

For security reasons, the mission was kept secret, but The Daily Telegraph can now reveal 10 orphans and four adults with three of their own children successfully fled over land into Pakistan and are due to arrive in Australia on Friday.

The orphan girls were dressed in burqas and hijabs for the journey from Kabul to Islamabad. Picture: Supplied

Baheshta, 12, is one of the orphans rescued from Kabul and brought to Australia. Picture: Supplied

Two of the girls, tucked up safe and sound, in the Islamabad hotel.

The children, aged four and above, were dressed in burqas to avoid attention, and bundled into cars for the perilous trip across the mountainous border between ­Afghanistan and Pakistan.

They arrived in the capital Islamabad earlier this week, where they waited in a hotel room together until a charter flight to Australia was ­available.

In the hotel, the excited children played and told staff they could not wait to get to their new home and see “mama”, the name they use for orphanage founder, Sydney woman Mahboba Rawi.

The troupe is expected to land in Australia on Friday.

Celebrating Australia Day at Kabul Hope House before the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Picture: Supplied

The charity Ms Rawi cre­ated in her own name has longstanding ties with Australia – Dame Quentin Bryce is their patron, while diplomats and defence personnel regularly visited the orphans.

But it was this connection that put the children and women supported by the charity in so much danger.

The fall of Kabul to the Taliban in mid-August prompted a mammoth effort to collect as many orphans as possible from nearby regions, and apply for humanitarian visas to get them to Australia.

The girls had fun with colouring books, while waiting in their Pakistan hotel.

Despite what they have been through, the children are full of hope.

As the Taliban went door-to-door looking for Western sympathisers, orphanage staff scrambled to organise paperwork as Australian volunteers drafted dozens of visa applications.

Australia’s former ambassador to Afghanistan Matt Anderson penned a letter to support the children’s refugee claim, due to the “very real and pressing threats” they faced.

“The takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban raises serious concerns, especially for women and children, organisations that educate girls and organisations with ties to international organisations,” he wrote.

“All of these factors raise concerns over the future of Hope House orphanages and the safety of their staff and the orphans they care for.”

Several of the orphans on the dangerous trip from the Panjshir Valley. Picture: Supplied

Waving hello to a new life.

Out in the field, staff risked their lives to save children.

One 22-year-old man, who’d grown up in the orph­anage, braved the extremely dangerous road to Kabul from Badakhshan Province to bring four destitute children to the city, with the hope of giving them a chance at life in ­Australia.

About 40 orphans were also rescued from the nearby Panjshir Valley, the last stronghold of resistance against the Taliban in all of Afghanistan.

One staff member filmed himself driving through the valley with a carload of ­orph­ans, telling the camera the children were in “grave danger right now”, but he hoped they would eventually “reach the shores of great Australia”.

Explosions at the airport in Kabul on August 26 and subsequent withdrawal of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) made a mass evacuation by air impossible, prompting the Pakistan plan.

Weeks later, as the security situation in Kabul continued to deteriorate, the orphanage made the decision to get the first 17 people with visas out while they could.

Following the successful evacuation, staff at Mahboba’s Promise, backed by legal and human rights advocates, are now hoping to work with the Australian government to get more orphans to safety.

Mahboba’s Promise acting general manager Nawid Cina said the support of Australian immigration, foreign and home affairs staff had been “invaluable” and hoped the success of the first mission would help the cause of the ­remaining orphans in Kabul.

Orphans hug in excitement waiting for their flight to take them to Australia. Picture: Supplied.

Mahboba Rawi and son Nawid Cina run the charity Mahboba's Promise which has helped 10 orphans and their carers fly to Australia after a daring escape from the Taliban. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“These orphans are only needing to leave Afghanistan because their lives are at risk due to their association and connection with an Australian charity,” he said.

“So this is a huge win, but it’s a first step as our hearts and minds are still with the ­remaining orphans and vulnerable women waiting for their visas to be processed.”

The charity is running an appeal where Australians can donate to support their efforts helping orphans and other displaced people in Afghanistan.

MAHBOBA’S PROMISE

She’s “mama” to a thousand Afghan orphans and now some of Mahboba Rawi’s precious children are finally coming home to her in Australia.

It’s not the future she originally dreamt for them, having started the charity Mahboba’s Promise more than 25 years ago to give orphans, widows and girls a brighter future in Afghanistan, but it’s better than leaving them to the mercy of the Taliban.

Mahboba Rawi is waiting to welcome 10 orphans from Kabul on their way to Sydney. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Speaking from her home in Sydney just hours before a group of 17 children and adults supported by her charity were due to arrive in Australia, Ms Rawi described it as a “life-changing” moment.

“Not only for the orphans, my life is going to be changing because I am now a mother of 11 kids, on top of grandchildren, my daughter and my son,” she said.

Ms Rawi said one child granted entry to Australia was nine-year-old girl Sadaf, who was totally mute when she came to the orphanage with her brother six years ago.

Siblings Sadaf, 9, and Zamir 11, waiting in a hotel in Islamabad Pakistan after being rescued from Kabul. Picture: Supplied

On a visit to the orphanage, Ms Rawi worked to gain her trust and, after realising the girl was frightened of her uncle who had physically beaten her, eventually helped her to talk again. “She is now chatty like a bird and very happy … and will do well in Australia,” Ms Rawi said.

Ms Rawi said she still feared for the remaining orphans in Kabul waiting on Australian visas.

“The kids are not safe (in Afghanistan),” she said.

“The world is scared of Taliban, so think about how children feel.”