ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - In October of 2019, US Marine Andy Bass traveled to Afghanistan to run the Marathon of Afghanistan. After spending time in Kabul, he traveled to the town of Bamyan, where he visited the Bamyan Women’s Market, an all-women-operated market selling a variety of goods and handicrafts.
There he was greeted by a young woman, Zahra, who ran the market. Zahra also ran a shop along with her mother, Bilqis, and sister, Fatima. Zahra, who is 18, had been working since she was 9. She also spoke some English. Fatima, who is 17, was the Afghanistan National Ski Champion. Over the course of several days, Andy visited the market and the three women. They also became Facebook friends, and they were able to keep in touch even after Andy returned to the US.
In August, when Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, Zahra stayed near the fighting at the border of Bamyan to provide the Afghan military with food and uniforms. She was one of few women near the fighting.
"It was around midnight that the commander called me and told me be ready because the Taliban is starting to attack Afghanistan,” Zahra told The Charlie Brennan Show with Amy Marxkors. “We don’t want Taliban [capture] you and sell you to other countries. I will send someone to kill you before Taliban coming and [capture] you."
But instead of killing Zhara, the Afghan solider provided the women with burkas and helped them find a car to Kabul.
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"When we arrived to Kabul, the Taliban followed us to attack Kabul [gate],” Zhara explained. “The Taliban and the Afghan military started fighting... And the Taliban had a special gun and they fired it so much at military, and the military car exploded. I asked military why you didn’t [fight] Taliban, and he told me because Mr. President ran away from Afghanistan, and all ministers ran away from Afghanistan. We don’t have anyone support us or helping us, and we are lonely fighting against Taliban."
In Kabul, Zhara sent a message to Andy. He helped her get a visa and find the right gate at the airport. After two days, the three women made it to the airport. After two more days, they made it onto a plane. Then—silence. Andy didn’t hear from the women for nine days. Finally, nine days after their last message, he received a text from Zhara in the middle of the night:
“We are somewhere named Dulles, where is this?”
Zahra, Fatima, and Bilqis spent the next three months on a military base being vetted before Andy could pick them up and bring them to St. Louis, where they are temporarily living with him and his fiancé. They are continuing to learn English. They are readying themselves for jobs. They are searching for an apartment. And they are trying out American food for the first time—which Zhara says is “delicious.”
The three women are overwhelmed with gratitude for the kindness shown by Andy, his fiancé, and the city.
Zhara smiled as she spoke about her new home.
"I think St. Louis is one of the most beautiful places in the world."
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