Gripping Interview of American Woman Trapped in Afghanistan Despite Reaching Out to Biden State Dept: ‘What Hope Am I Supposed to Have Now?’

In an exclusive interview with Voice of America (VOA), a 24-year-old pregnant newlywed and California native recounts some of her incredible story of attempted escape during the fall of Afghanistan, and the Taliban’s armed answer to her American passport.

Before the deadline for exit, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that their “expectation” was Americans attempting to flee through the Kabul airport would be able to do so despite the Taliban stating that they would no longer allow that to happen. In that same answer to a reporter, she emphasized the State Department was working with individuals trapped in the city to arrange specific times to arrive at the airport and have their evacuation facilitated.

But that is not what happened to the California woman going by “Nasria” in the exclusive VOA interview with VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb. Instead, her passport, which she displayed in photos and video she shot from the chaos of her multiple attempted escapes, was not accepted or given any special treatment at Taliban checkpoints. As might be one’s actual expectation.

Instead, she was shot at and prevented from reaching the gates, despite being just yards from American troops, she says. “Our troops were literally at the gate just waiting for us to continue walking and they had blocked us. There was a time that like, I went past them and started walking as fast as I can, and they started shooting right by my leg and told me to come back.”

At one point, a time and place meet like Psaki described was arranged by the State Department. The State Department never showed, though Nasria says they waited for 12 hours. The Taliban’s feelings on the State Department’s efforts have been made clear.

Her harrowing account is all the more poignant for the fact that she was in Afghanistan getting married, and the fact that she is pregnant. It’s all the more infuriating to hear because she followed all the instructions and advisements for the evacuation, including being in touch with the State Department. Not being in touch was repeatedly cited by the Biden administration as a reason that people were trapped.

One wonders if Nasria would agree with CNN’s Bakari Sellers that Biden has done a “damn good job” handling the Afghanistan exit. Or with Karine Jean-Pierre‘s assertion that the president’s appeal to the Afghan president to say the Taliban was no existential threat was “sound” advice.

Nasria is trapped in the country with her husband and expecting a child. After a rescue that never came, she asks, “What hope am I supposed to have now?”

It’s a question a lot of people should be expected to answer in briefings and pressers. Will they be?

Watch the stunning interview above, via Voice of America.