Afghan activist Fatema Soleimani had minutes to grab what she could before beginning a treacherous 730-kilometre journey with her family to reach their flight from Afghanistan as the Taliban consolidated control over the country.
She had been living in hiding for more than two months after the Taliban swept to power on August 15, changing locations often to escape threats from the insurgents, who were pursuing her and her colleagues for their work empowering women and minority groups.
Nearly nine months pregnant and accompanied by her husband and two young daughters, she quickly put together a small bag of clothes, documents and some personal items, including supplies for her unborn child.
Within an hour they were packed, said their goodbyes to the extended family, and were on their way across the country, racing against time to ensure they caught their flight.
The Taliban takeover last year triggered a mass departure from Afghanistan, particularly of Afghan women, who lost their hard-earned rights and freedom.
Often with very little time to pack their lives, those leaving the country were forced to make hard choices about what to take with them to exile.
What they chose to save from their homeland now forms a collective memory for a version of Afghanistan that was at odds with the extremist ideology of the Taliban and no longer exists.
'How can one pack their whole life in two bags?'
“We did not have enough time to even think of what we might have wanted to take with us,” said Ms Soleimani, sitting in the small apartment allotted to her family at a refugee centre in Albania.
“We had a carpet in our room that we would sit on every evening to talk about our day, our feelings, our love and life,” said Hadi Rasooli, her husband.
“I know it was just a carpet, but for us it held so much emotional value, so many memories. We had hoped to grow old with it.”
Ms Soleimani broke down as she recounted the last few moments in her house, in the city of Herat.
“Everything in that house I carefully chose and built over the last 11 years. From kitchenware to furniture, rugs and everything else, we purchased those things with a future in mind. How can one pack their whole life in two bags in a matter of hours?,” she asked.
Other Afghans now living as refugees in Albania voiced similar pain.
Afghanistan’s once burgeoning educated middle classes – who had salvaged a relatively pluralist society after decades of war – made up a large portion of those fleeing the country’s new rulers.
“I had less than an hour to pack,” said Negina Azimi, an artist who escaped Afghanistan in August.
“My family was in the middle of moving houses when I got the call. There was so much I wanted to bring with me, but everything I owned was already in boxes,” she said.
Ms Azimi said she barely had time to say goodbye to her family
Among the few items she took with her were a ring given to her by her mother and her father’s prayer beads.
“I hold these things close to me every time I miss them,” she said.
Former policewoman Gulafroz Ebtekar had been on the run from the Taliban for two months before she was taken to Albania.
“My sister and I learnt how to travel light, and how to avoid suspicion while on the road, so we didn’t have much when we finally did leave,” she told The National.
“The only thing that we managed to bring was a photo album of pictures of our family. This is the only memento I have.”
As Ms Ebtekar showed photos documenting her journey to becoming one of Afghanistan’s first female police officers, she said she wished she had been able to save her uniform.
“But, when you are under as much pressure and stress for your life, these are not things to prioritise,” she said.
Home comforts
For a young family like Ms Soleimani’s, reminders of the happier times they had in Afghanistan were the priority.
Her two daughters, aged 8 and 10, showed off the small haul of treasure they managed to sneak on to the evacuation flight.
“We brought these books because we used to read them in Afghanistan and they are some of our favourites. We want to read them to our new sister someday,” said Yusra, the elder of the two.
She said the sisters had not forgotten to pack their dolls, including one for their yet-to-be born sister, “so she has something from our house in Afghanistan”.
Ms Soleimani gave birth only a week after arriving in Albania, and had to rely on the kindness of strangers as they settled in exile.
“One of the two bags I had packed was for the baby, but then we lost it during our journey and had nothing with us. We literally left with only the clothes on our backs,” she said.
For families like Ms Soleimani’s, what they left behind has become more than a collection of mere possessions.
Mr Rasooli said: “We didn’t just leave behind material things, but our memories, hopes, dreams – everything that we struggled to achieve for ourselves and our country.”
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How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
RIDE%20ON
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Racecard
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
MATCH INFO
New Zealand 176-8 (20 ovs)
England 155 (19.5 ovs)
New Zealand win by 21 runs
The specs
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Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
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Results
5pm: UAE Martyrs Cup (TB) Conditions Dh90,000 2,200m
Winner: Mudaarab, Jim Crowley (jockey), Erwan Charpy (trainer).
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh70,000 1,400m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Hassan Al Hammadi.
6pm: UAE Matyrs Trophy (PA) Maiden Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Salima Al Reef, Jesus Rosales, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
6.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Apprentice Championship (PA) Prestige Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Bainoona, Ricardo Iacopini, Eric Lemartinel.
7pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Ladies World Championship (PA) Prestige Dh125,000 1,600m
Winner: Assyad, Victoria Larsen, Eric Lemartinel.
8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1 Dh5,000,000 1,600m
Winner: Mashhur Al Khalediah, Jean-Bernard Eyquem, Phillip Collington.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Makerah, Adrie de Vries, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap | Dh80,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Hazeme, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Handicap | Dh85,000 | 2,200m
Winner: AF Yatroq, Brett Doyle, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Shadwell Farm for Private Owners Handicap | Dh70,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Nawwaf KB, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh100,000 | 1,600m
Winner: Treasured Times, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
MATCH RESULT
Al Jazira 3 Persepolis 2
Jazira: Mabkhout (52'), Romarinho (77'), Al Hammadi (90' 6)
Persepolis: Alipour (42'), Mensha (84')
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Jawab Iteiqal
Director: Mohamed Sammy
Starring: Mohamed Ramadan, Ayad Nasaar, Mohamed Adel and Sabry Fawaz
2 stars
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
