Not everyone made it. 81 students were blocked in Kabul who in recent months had passed the exam to attend the La Sapienza University of Rome. With them, 9 children were also supposed to arrive, children of some girls. The University had given the Defense a list with the people to be boarded on Italian flights but the students had the misfortune of arriving at the Kabul airport shortly before the ISIS-K attack. The ensuing chaos prevented the military from picking up the girls who, on the advice of the Italian authorities, had divided into small groups near the gates.
Many female students come from Herat, they have faced a long and dangerous journey. In the circles of the Sapienza there is a lot of concern, there are fears that they may be exposed to kidnappings and reprisals by the Taliban.
The 81 admitted to the Roman university should have followed the “Global humanities” course in Literature and Philosophy, Department of Oriental Studies. As Professor Mara Matta explains on the website, the idea of the course was born to ensure “an inclusive university open to all, which gives migrant, refugee and asylum seekers the opportunity to train”. The course, “with an international vocation”, intertwines the study of histories and philosophies with “the teaching of human rights, bioethics and artificial intelligence”. The hope is to host the students on the flight of a country still in Kabul, which could take them out of Afghanistan and hand them over to the Italian defense during a stopover. The negotiation is in progress, news are already expected today.
The Vice Rector: “Things got complicated after the attack”
“After the explosion – explained the Vice Rector for International Affairs of the La Sapienza University of Rome Bruno Botta – things got complicated, we are in contact with the crisis unit of the Farnesina which is doing everything possible to help us and has said he will not leave the students of Wisdom alone. The greatest concern is for the students who went from Herat to Kabul to embark and who, if they had to go back, risk reprisals ». The hope now is that the group can travel on flights from other states, when there are any.