She fled to Canada after the Taliban took over Afghanistan. She still hopes to return home

The Current19:44Revisiting Afghanistan, two years after the Taliban takeover

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Golshan Mosleh, who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country, worries about the "human crisis" in her home country.

It's been two years since the Taliban overthrew Afghanistan's democratically elected government on Aug. 15, 2021.

The regime's reign has been hard on Afghans, especially women who continue to be targeted by restrictions and bans on education and work.

Economic sanctions were quickly imposed on the regime following its return to power, but aid groups like the Norwegian Refugee Council warn that the measures are also throwing more people into poverty as the country's economy continues to collapse. 

"We have 28 million people who are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The crippling economic decline, the natural disasters, the high level of unemployment, the situation is quite alarming in every field," said Reshma Azmi, deputy country director for CARE International in Afghanistan.

According to the UN, more than 1.6 million Afghans have left the country since the Taliban's takeover. Canada has taken in more than 36,000 Afghans as part of the federal government's goal of resettling 40,000 people in response to the Taliban takeover. 

Mosleh, who was the head of plans and programs at Afghanistan's interior ministry before August 2021, is among those who have sought refuge in Canada. She arrived in Toronto with her husband and son in 2022. Mosleh spoke to guest host Catherine Cullen about her journey here and the challenges she's faced in a new country.

Here is part of their conversation.

Given how difficult we hear the conditions there are, was it a hard decision to leave or it was clear to you that you had no choice? 

I had no choice. I can't breathe…. I can't dream. Like even now, if I dream I am back in Afghanistan, [I'm] shocked [awake] from my sleep — like I am waking up and I can't breathe.

What has coming to Canada been like for you and your family? 

It's good…. We have one saying that the people who help you in the most serious time, the bad time, [they are the] people who support you all the time. 

Canada opened its doors for us when [Afghanistan] was struggling between life and death. 

So I'm very happy that I'm here, but I'm very feeling bad because all women in Afghanistan [are] paying the cost of the war and the political games. 

There are challenges when a person rebuilds their life in another country. What has that been like for you, your husband and your son? 

This is also a great challenge; starting from scratch, having even nothing…. So it is very difficult and challenging. 

But we did it. We are now in a semi-stable life, but still we are struggling when finding jobs.

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It's jobs you worry about the most? 

Yeah, it's the job, because before coming to Canada, we had this expectation once we go [with] international experience, as a person who has a higher education ... [there's several people] having masters degree[s] from India, another part of the world, we are struggling with finding a job.

So the main thing, like for all of these families I'm interviewing … they are saying the main thing that we struggle with is finding a job.

When you think about your own future, do you imagine that you will go back one day to Afghanistan? 

Possibly, yes, because it's obvious that Canada is my second home. But this is very true that Afghanistan is my first home. 

If a person has two homes and the one home [needs] much support and building and everything, so obviously people will go to the home that … is stable, good condition.

So definitely if I have this chance and once everything is OK, I can go back to provide support.

What do you believe is in Afghanistan's future? 

If [the] Taliban still exists, it is a dark future…. It is all night, all darkness because without education, education is a light. When education is taken away, it means it is darkness. 

Tomorrow is the second year… 15 August 2021 is a very black day of the history. So it is two years, but we don't know how long it will continue…. It is a loss of life. It's a tragedy.

It is a human crisis in a part of the world by the name of Afghanistan.