These sisters fled Afghanistan, now they fear war in Ukraine
Now they sit together in a small apartment on the outskirts of The pair are torn between their yearning for the past, the loved ones they left behind, and their fears for a deeply uncertain future.Fazila, 26, and Shagufa, 24, are the youngest siblings in a large family. Members of the Hazara ethnic minority, their roots are in Bamyan, central Afghanistan.Despite the trials and tribulations of daily life in Afghanistan, the sisters describe their life before last summer as “the golden days.”They were enrolled in university and their day jobs as flight attendants allowed them to travel widely. At work, Fazila says she met everyone from former Afghan President Hamid Karzai to the Afghan pop star Aryana Sayeed.”We are not brave enough to cross the border, otherwise we would love to go there,” says Shagufa.The sisters say that they have had no assurances of help from the UN.UNHCR told CNN it recognizes the Haidary sisters’ “anxiety,” along with that of other Ukrainians; it said it was urging the Ukrainian government to include refugees in its contingency planning.When they escaped from Kabul, the sisters thought they were among the lucky few. Now they’re not so sure.”I am not ready again to go through it,” says Shugufa.This story has been updated. Journalist Olga Voitovych contributed to this report.