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Barrie, Ont., woman's mission to help children in Kabul is halted

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Barrie, Ont. -

As the last Canadian military flight leaves Kabul, Zarmina Nekzai's heart breaks as the lifeline she was hoping for is severed.

"It's hard for everyone in Canada, for everyone to see the news, but it's worse for me," Nekzai said.

As efforts to airlift those fleeing Taliban rule come to an end Thursday, it means more than 200 students Nekzai had been helping are stranded.

"My wishes (are) for the government of Canada to help us- all these young girls. I don't want them to become young brides," Nekzai said.

Nekzai fled Afghanistan in 1984 after a Russian rocket struck her family's home, killing her father and injuring three of her siblings.

In 1988, she arrived in Canada with her husband and daughter.

Bringing her new culture back to the village where she grew up, Nekzai built a hockey rink near Kabul in 2018, with the help of local rotary clubs.

Over the years, she's worked with three schools helping kids get involved in sports and continuing their education.

"Children need to not only read and write, but emotionally they need to exercise their brain," Nekzai said.

In her Barrie home, she keeps a list of names, ages and grades of all the children she helps.

Their pictures are published in her book Hockey Girls of Kabul.

"I treat them like my own children. I feel like I am losing my kids."

Nekzai said she hasn't been able to sleep and doesn't have much of an appetite as she spends countless hours trying to bring the students and their families to Canada.

But with no more flights set to take off, her mission has come to a halt, as she works to track down many of the families who fled their villages.

"They went to seek safety in Kabul because when the Taliban came into the villages, they are scared because they are taking our girls from us," she said.

Nekzai had hoped the students would be among the 20,000 Afghans Ottawa said it would resettle, but with nowhere left to turn, they will have no choice but to face life under the Taliban.

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