In the last few days there are two brothers who are unable to close their calls on WhatsApp. From morning to evening they spend as much time on the phone as possible. Each word is a knot that seems to shorten the distance between Kabul and Venice. They look at each other, talk and cry together. She is Zhara Hamadi, a 32-year-old Afghan businesswoman. He is Ahmed Hamadi, one of the founders of the Orient Experience chain and protagonist of Michelle Obama’s Waffles + Mochi series. Having escaped from the Taliban in 2006, Hamadi has brought his parents and five other siblings to Italy in recent years. The latest, Zhara, is blocked in Kabul.
Zhara Hamadi, where are you now?
“I’m hiding in a house with other friends. We are alone and haven’t slept in 72 hours. If the Taliban take Kabul, they will look for unmarried women aged 15 to 40 to force them to be with a jihadist. This thought makes me throw up and it’s even worse than the idea of dying. ‘
What was your life like until recently?
«I took over the“ Jardin ”, a well-known restaurant in Kabul which in the past was frequented by foreigners and recently by politicians. In 2016 it suffered a terrorist attack and was abandoned, but in 2018 I took over and soon I would have to open the new restaurant “Mehmane Sahar”. As long as the Americans were there, everything was fine and I could serve at the tables without a veil. In recent years I have believed that we young people could revive our country, but now my heart is terrified and broken. I worked hard to carry out these projects in a very male-dominated country. I thought I had made it ».
You have your whole family in Italy, why can’t you join them?
“The Italian consulate, the one that issues visas, has been closed for two years and it is impossible to have one. The Italian government has announced that it will help those who have collaborated with the state. I have not collaborated, but I have all my affections in Venice and I cannot reach them. My brother will make me work with him, I will not be a burden, but help me ».
Is it dangerous to go out in Kabul?
“In Kabul it would still be possible, but within a few days it will no longer be. We listen to the news, but the more we realize what is happening the more we seem to go crazy. If the Taliban arrive, we will no longer be able to communicate with anyone. The Taliban had asked the president to step down and he did not, the consequences will be devastating. If we are forced to live with the Taliban, we ask the international community to make sure that any agreement is respected. Otherwise it is the end for us, especially for us women ».
How important are women?
«Among the young people, they are enthusiastic if we too take to the streets. Two weeks ago there was a demonstration against the Taliban. We shouted Allah Akbar because that expression belongs to everyone and they have to stop propaganda, but they replied that they will make us pay for it. On that occasion I spoke into the microphone and many supported me because we were only a few women. I believed it, in the rebirth of Afghanistan. I really believed in it ».
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