APRIL 7 • 2022 | 11
“He and his family were
actually at the airport. He
was an interpreter for the
American soldiers so he
was able to get out,” Farber
said. “Shafi had videos of the
Taliban shooting at the airport
and people climbing the walls.
He and his family waited in
lines for two days, not being
able to leave or go to the bath-
room and with no food, even
with two very small children.”
Eventually, Shafi and
his family were able to get
on a plane, traveling from
Afghanistan to Qatar to
Germany and then taken all
the way to Camp Atterbury in
Indianapolis, which was full
of other refugees. They stayed
there for four months.
“Shafi said there were about
7,000 people,” Farber said. “He
showed me pictures of peo-
ple waiting in line for food,
miles long, and oftentimes
they would get to the front
and there wouldn’t be any
left. They gave them two pairs
of pants and shirts, and they
slept in bunk beds in a bar-
rack with other families.”
After that, Shafi and his
family were brought to the
Los Angeles hotel with almost
100 other Afghan refugees.
Shafi is one of the few refugees
who speaks and understands
English, which helped in the
initial meeting with Farber.
“So Shafi’s showing me all
these pictures and videos, and
my grandson Zach, who is 10
years old, was listening and said
he wanted to help,
” Farber said.
It was at that point Farber
decided what needed to hap-
pen — her family would help
them in any way they could.
“We decided we were going
to get involved and help
because we just couldn’t leave
these people,” Farber said.
TIME RUNNING OUT
Farber was motivated to move
quickly because the govern-
ment only helps refugees for a
limited time.
“Our government gives
them three months. Shafi and
his family arrived at the hotel
on Jan. 4, but the contract was
signed Dec. 28, so would only
go until March 28. At the end
of three months, they had to
“SHAFI HAD VIDEOS OF
THE TALIBAN SHOOTING AT
THE AIRPORT AND PEOPLE
CLIMBING THE WALLS.”
— KAREN FARBER
An Amazon wish list delivery. Shafi, his
wife and son, along with Larry Farber
and his grandson Zach.
continued on page 12