MEXICO CITY — Mexico has welcomed around 130 refugees
from Afghanistan, including members of a girls robotics team and journalists
who fled the
Taliban-controlled country fearing for their lives.
اضافة اعلان
"It's about those who are risking their lives to
report, to communicate, who are committed to freedom of expression,"
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said as he received the media workers at Mexico
City airport.
The journalists, including employees of The New York Times,
landed in Mexico early Wednesday with their relatives via Doha in a Qatari
military plane.
They arrived in a country that, like Afghanistan, is one of
the most dangerous places in the world for news media to operate.
Hours earlier, several members of the robotics team, none of
whom were identified for security reasons, were also received at the airport by
Ebrard, and four of them gave a press conference.
"They have not only saved our lives, but they have also
saved our dreams," one of the group said of host Mexico.
"Our stories will not sadly end because of the
Taliban," she added through a translator, while her face was hidden by a
Covid-19 mask.
"Under this regime, we women will face
difficulties...that is why we are grateful to be here," she said.
'Afghan Dreamers'
Mexico has granted the girls and one of their partners
humanitarian visas valid for up to 180 days with the right to renew or apply
for a change of status in the future.
"We want to tell them from the bottom of our hearts
that they are home," said Ebrard.
Part of a larger group of high-achieving high school girls
known "Afghan Dreamers," the robotics team consists of about 20
members, most of whom are still in their teens.
The girls made headlines in 2017 after being denied visas to
take part in a robotics competition in Washington — before then-president
Donald Trump intervened and they were allowed to travel.
Last year, they worked to build a low-cost medical
ventilator from car parts hoping to boost hospital equipment during the
coronavirus pandemic.
During the Taliban’s rule from 1996–2021, girls were
excluded from school, women confined to their homes and offenses punishable by
public stonings and executions.
Though the Taliban have vowed a softer, more inclusive
regime this time around, offering assurances of women's rights within what they
consider Islamic bounds, many Afghans are skeptical.
The United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said
Tuesday she had received credible reports that the Taliban were already
restricting women, and warned them not to cross that "red line".
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