An eleven year old Afghan girl who lost her left eye in a terrible Taliban bombing is getting the medical attention she needs in America, and her father back home is working hard — and even defying the Taliban — to make sure she gets a solid education.
Farida, 11, lost her eye to a Taliban bombing in Afghanistan four years ago. This horrific Taliban attack killed three of her siblings and caused her to lose her left eye. Fortunately, Farida was able to receive care for her eye in the United States — and found a loving host family to help with her recovery!
Farida Update: Afghan Girl Loses Eye In Taliban Attack
After Farida lost her eye in a terrible bombing that changed her family’s life forever, she was flown to North Carolina in order to receive the urgent medical attention required. Her father, farmer Abdul Rauf, defied the Taliban by sending his daughter abroad for the medical care he could not provide for her himself — but had faith it was worth the risk.
“Some people were saying if the Taliban finds out, they’ll cut off your head,” Abdul Rauf, 47, told the Los Angeles Times. “I asked these people: Are you afraid to have your own children treated? Will you sacrifice your own flesh and blood?”
Farida’s father never lost hope for his daughter’s situation, assuring those nervous about the actions that “something good is happening here. Don’t be afraid.”
Farida’s Road To Recovery
In North Carolina, Farida’s left eye socket was fitted with a conformer shell — a clear plastic lens which reduces friction when she blinks, according to the Los Angeles Times. Over three years after her first operations, she still does need further treatment to fix residual problems with the lens. Farida also was fitted for glasses to help her right eye. The purple eye patch that she wears over her damaged eye is decorated with a rhinestone “F” for Farida.
Farida stays with host parents Asheli and Eric Thompson in North Carolina over the summers through a charity called Solace for Children which places children with families while receiving medical treatment. Her second family in the United States exposes her to American culture every summer.
Her father back home in Afghanistan has enrolled his daughter in school run by Solace for Children in Kabul and wants her to pursue an education, reports the LA Times. Farida’s father tells the paper:
Everything is different now for her. She will go to school. She’ll be an educated woman. I believe in my heart it’s things like this that will bring peace to our country.
Sandy Tabor-Gray, a Solace coordinator, tells the paper that she is “in awe” of the father’s devotion: ”He’s risking everything for his daughter. I’m in awe of this family’s courage.”
What do YOU think, HollyMoms? Aren’t Farida and her father so brave?
– Kristine Hope Kowalski
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