“We flew Ellmarjan's son Arsh to join him in December as well.”
- Ellmarjan worked for 4 years as a translator for the U.S. Army. The Taliban asked him to leak info, but he refused & told them he’d never cooperate. After he & his family were harassed several times by the Taliban, Ellmarjan decided to leave the role for his family’s safety.
- One day, while buying bread w/ his dad, Ellmarjan's father was shot & killed. No longer safe, the family was forced to flee Afghanistan. In an impossible decision, he & his wife decided the trip was too dangerous to bring their youngest, Arsh. He stayed back w/ his grandma.
- After a horrific trip through Iran, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, & the Balkans that lasted 7.5 months, Ellmarjan and his wife arrived in Belgium, seeking asylum. Almost 9 months later, they were granted official status as refugees. This opened the possibility to ask for family reunification.
- After another long procedure, Arsh was granted the visa to be with his parents & his new brother! Almost two years later, he was reunited with his parents thanks to cash donors who supported his flight & the work of our nonprofit partner, Steunpunt Asiel.
- In July, Miles4Migrants was also able to fly Arsh's half sister, Dunya, to be with her family in Belgium– just in time to escape the Taliban takeover. 25,000 donated Aeroplan miles made it happen. Ellmarjan shared, "my family is complete now!"
Posted by: Miles4Migrants on August 21, 2021.