Barrie, Ont., woman's mission to help children in Kabul is halted
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.