As thousands of people continue attempts to flee Afghanistan amid the Taliban’s takeover and tightening grip on the country, a US Army veteran is desperately trying to help 100 Afghans currently in hiding who worked at a medical clinic she helped open as evacuations have accelerated in recent days.
Anna Talerico, 53, a physician’s assistant and retired military officer, served in Afghanistan in 2009. She returned to the country a few years later to help open American Medical Center – which provided medical services to Americans, Afghans and foreign nationals in Kabul, the capital. In addition, the facility provided physicals for special immigrant visa applicants.
The clinic has since been turned over to another organization that oversees its operations. Many of the workers – nurses and doctors – are women who face an uncertain future under Taliban rule, said Talerico, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., resident.
The Taliban is notorious for violating women’s rights.
“You have a whole generation who has grown up in freedom and a lot of women who have grown up in freedom and we’re just heartbroken that that could just be taken away from them overnight,” Talerico told Fox News.
