Photo: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty
An Oklahoma mom says she stepped up to help a group of 10 young female engineersget out of the Afghanistanamid the Taliban takeover.
Allyson Reneau, a Harvard University graduate and a mom of 11,toldTodayin a Thursday article that she knew she had to help the Afghan Girls Robotic Team as the situation in the country worsened earlier this month.
The Taliban has swept across Afghanistan in a neartotal takeover, which unfolded during the planned withdrawal of U.S. forces after a 20-year war.
Reneau, 60, who works on the board of directors forExplore Mars, toldTodayshe first met the group of Afghan teens on the robotic team two years ago at the annual Humans to Mars Conference. She said she “immediately connected with the girls” and has kept in touch with the group in the years since.
As Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, she “couldn’t shake” the feeling that she had to help them.
“I said to myself, ‘What do I have in my hand? Where can I start?’ " Reneau said. “I felt a little helpless.”
Reneau said she first called Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe, who is the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee. After the senator put her in touch with the military liaison for the Senate, however, she hit a dead end.
“He was quickly overwhelmed with the need to help our American citizens,” she said. “So that lead went cold.”
Sayed Khodaiberdi Sadat/Anadolu Agency via Getty
Determined to help the team, Reneau took matters into her own hands and booked a flight to Qatar as “a leap of faith,” explaining, “Sometimes action just opens doors, [but] I was going alone, and I’m thinking, ‘Do I even know anyone in Qatar?’ "
She soon remembered a former roommate had been transferred to the Middle Eastern country and was working in the U.S. Embassy there and “was sure her boss would approve helping the girls,” Reneau said.
The two women wasted no time organizing paperwork and obtaining the girls' passports, according toToday. Still, the process wasn’t easy.
“They were in a sea of chaos with 8 million people and a city [Kabul] halfway around the world,” Reneau said. “A lot of the work I’ve done with the embassy has been all night, and I have to work all day. It’s been exhausting.”
She added, “It’s [a] very narrow window of opportunity. I knew that if I didn’t run through that door now — it’s now or never. Sometimes you only get one chance.”
The team has since been successfully evacuated and flown to a secure location, where they have the opportunity to pursue higher education.
A board member with the engineering team’s parent group toldToday: “Ultimately the girls ‘rescued’ themselves. If it were not for their hard work and courage to pursue an education, which brought them in contact with the world, they would still be trapped.”
After assisting the girls, Renau and a team of others in the Middle East aren’t done with their efforts, they say: They’re currently helping additional girls from the robotics team leave Afghanistan along with their mentors.
President Joe Biden.BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty
The U.S. is working to remove Americans and allies from Afghanistan.
President Joe Biden, who has faced heavy criticism for how the evacuation operation has unfolded,told ABC NewsWednesday that he plans to keep troops in the country as long as necessary, even if it means staying past the previously set withdrawal date.
Biden said the U.S. will “do everything in our power to get all Americans out and our allies out,” adding, “Americans should understand that we’re gonna try to get it done before Aug. 31. If we don’t, we’ll determine at the time who’s left.”
According tothe Associated Press, about 15,000 Americans remained in Afghanistan last weekend, though it what proportion of that group was government personnel, aid workers or dual citizens.
By Tuesday, the U.S. said it had evacuated 3,200 people from the country, including all U.S. Embassy personnel, with the exception of some diplomats, perGood Morning America.
source: people.com
