On Thursday, August 19, Mirza Ali Ahmadi and his wife Suraya Ahmadi had taken their five children to the airport in Kabul.
The Taliban had just taken control of Afghanistan, and many people were desperately trying to get out of the country.
The Ahmadi family stood outside the airport and feared the worst. They lifted their youngest child, two-month-old Sohail Ahmadi, and gave him to an American soldier, who was standing inside the airport.
The picture of the little child who was lifted over the fence has gone around the world.
Five months would pass before the family could see Sohail again.
Nicole (23) killed in Kabul attack
KABUL: Sohail has lived with Hamid Safi in Kabul. Photo: Ali Khara / Reuters
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Found
When Sohail’s family got into the airport, they found him nowhere. The parents immediately began looking for their son. After a while, the family was put on a plane to the United States, not knowing where Sohail was.
In November, however, the family received good news. Sohail, then five months old, had been located in Kabul.
According to BBC he was found with a local family in Kabul. A man claims he found Sohail crying alone at the airport. When he could not find the parents, the man decided to take the infant home and raise him as his own son.
The man and his wife decided to give the child a new name, and often posted pictures of him on Facebook with their other children.
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Refused to give up
After an article about the missing child was published in November, some of the man’s neighbors recognized the child and posted comments online about his whereabouts.
After a short time, the neighbors’ theories were confirmed. The family was finally ready to see Sohail again. But even if the boy was finally located, it would take time before the family could be reunited.
TOGETHER AGAIN: Sohail Ahmadi is finally home with his family again. Photo: Mohd Rasfan / AFP
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Sohail’s grandfather, Mohammad Qasem Razawi, tells Sky News that he brought gifts to the man and asked to bring back the grandson. But according to Razawi, the man refused to give up the child.
After seven weeks of negotiations – and a short detention of the man – local authorities ensured that Sohail could be returned to his grandfather, reports Reuters. The family was overjoyed.
– We celebrate, dance and sing. It’s like a wedding, says Razawi.
He goes on to say that the man and his family were devastated to lose Sohail.
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