U of T student who fled Taliban recounts effort to rescue her parents: CBC's Metro Morning

People prepare to board an evacuation flight out of Kabul in October of 2021 (photo by Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Published: April 6, 2022

When University of Toronto Mississauga student Sana Hashim reached out to her philosophy professor for help getting her parents out of Afghanistan, she never imagined it would lead to a rescue plan with a network of retired U.S. marines, CBC’s Metro Morning reports.

“So incredible and truly mind boggling. Not even in my wildest dream did I expect to get the type of response from UTM that I did,” Hashim told reporter Mary Wiens.

Hashim, who had been living in Kabul with her family, fled to Dubai with her three siblings after the Taliban retook the city last year. When she reached out to Sergio Tenenbaum, a professor of philosophy at U of T Mississauga, he mobilized resources in Canada and beyond – all while Hashim attempted to keep up with her studies.

“It’s very hard to explain, there was this feeling of I need to help this person,” Tenenbaum said.