The Afghan Dreamers, an Afghan women's robotics team that struggled to get out of the country when the Taliban was in power, were finally evacuated safely. They are now safe in Qatar.
Previously, these nine members of the Afghan Dreamers had to fight for days to be evacuated to a safer place.
They appealed to the Canadian government, specifically Canadian Prime Minister Justi Trudeau, but it was Qatar who ultimately accepted these tech talents.
In a statement from the parent team organization, the Digital Citizen Fund (DCF), as quoted by the BBC, Saturday (21/8/2021), Afghan Dreamers has asked the Qatari government for help since August 12, three days before the capital Kabul fell to the Taliban.
"When we heard that Kabul was about to fall, we contacted the (Qatarian foreign) ministry and they immediately expedited visas to evacuate them (Afghan Dremers-ed)," said DCF Board Member Elizabeth Schaeffer Brown.
Now, the Afghan Dreamers, who are 15-19 years old on average, are already in Doha, Qatar. Not only team members, a teacher who accompanied them was also transported from Kabul whose condition was deteriorating.
"They take very good care of the Afghan Dreamers. The flight out of Kabul is just the end of a journey where safety is a concern," said Elizabeth.
It is not yet known how the Afghan Dreamers will travel in the future after being evacuated. However, a number of universities around the world, including some in the United States, offer scholarships to these robotics teams.
The Afghan Dreamers made big headlines in 2017, when they were barred from entering the US, before finally winning a silver medal at the FIRST Global Challenge robotics competition in Washington, USA.
Afghan Dreamers have made a number of unique discoveries over the past four years. Their innovations include inexpensive hand-operated ventilators for COVID-19 patients. This ventilator utilizes old used Toyota Corolla car parts.