Immigrant families from San Diego area stuck in Afghanistan

EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) — Multiple families from a San Diego suburb with a large refugee population are among those stuck in Afghanistan after going back to the country over summer break to visit grandparents and other relatives.

The El Cajon families include 16 parents and two-dozen children, some of whom have witnessed shootings and other violence in and around the Kabul airport in recent days, said Fraidoon Hassemi, an Afghan who works as community liaison for the El Cajon Valley Union School District. The children range from preschoolers to high school students.

“Nobody is doing well,” said Hassemi, who has spoken to the families. “They are trying their best to get to the airport, get to their gates and get on an airplane. The situation is very horrible.”

The families were asking for the U.S. government's help after being unable to board their flights back to California. They have been blocked by the throngs of Afghans at the Kabul airport desperately trying to escape following their government's rapid collapse and the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

The school district became aware of the problem after a relative of one of the families reached out to say their child would be late starting the school year, which began Aug. 17.

The families had each traveled on their own on different dates and were not part of an organized trip.

They now find themselves plunged into a harrowing experience, Hassemi said.

Many of the families arrived in Afghanistan in early May and June, months before the crisis unfolded and the country's president fled as the Taliban seized power.

“What happened in Afghanistan was unexpected for everybody,” Hassemi said. “Everyone was shocked that in one week, everything changed.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that as many as 1,500...