By Emily Drooby
On 32nd St. and Third Ave. in Manhattan, there’s a breakfast cart. It belongs to Muhammed Nasiri – the owner says he’s desperate to get his wife out of Afghanistan before it’s too late.
“I wish she was coming here, I worry about her too much,” Muhammed said.
He is from Afghanistan himself and came to the U.S. in 1987. Since then, Muhammed has operated this cart for 20 years. He met his wife while visiting home. They got married in 2018 and that’s when he began the process of bringing her here. However, the pandemic extended the standard immigration delays even more.
Now, with the Taliban taking over, his desire to bring his wife here has turned into desperation.
Muhammed fears for her life, especially if it’s discovered that she’s married to someone living in America.
“What’s going to happen to her if they know her husband is in American? They’re going to make big damage,” he added. “Kill them or beat them, I don’t know.”
That is why we aren’t using her name or her photo. Muhammed says she’s been to the airport several times. Despite having paperwork to prove her marriage and her impending visa – she has been unable to get out.
“She called me and told me, ‘nobody let me to come in the airport to go inside,’ so what can I do?” Muhammed said.
The NYC business owner took a call from his wife while Currents News was interviewing him. She’s okay – for now. He has spent hours on the phone to push her paperwork through but he knows she’s running out of time.
“Right now,” he said, “the situation is very bad.”
He is begging for help and hoping someone might see his story and be able to help.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next,” he added.
One thing he does know – if she doesn’t get out now – she might never.