Sharbat Gula has returned to Afghanistan. She is safe, and I am grateful.
I have been following Sharbat Gula and her difficult life story for a few years and her recent circumstances have concerned me a lot.
Sharbat has returned to her native country amid a flurry of media and a special welcome greeting from the current President. She also has a new apartment to live in with her children. All is well.
But I can’t help but wonder what thoughts are going through this shy, devout Muslin woman’s mind as everything spins around her.
Would all of this be happening if she had not been the face that launched National Geographic’s most famous photograph in 1984? Would her new home be in one of the atrocious camps that so many other Afghani refugees find themselves inhabiting, instead of an apartment, but for her former celebrity?
Does it matter? I don’t know, Sharbat and her children are safe, and I’m grateful.
Here is the video of President, Ashraf Ghani, greeting Sharbat Gula. via YouTube
Sharbat Gula, The Afghan Girl, In Trouble And Needing Help