Unexpected Refuge

Charlotte Ishkanian

Afghanistan [af-GAN-ih-stan] is an Islamic republic bordering Iran, Pakistan, China, and the former Soviet Union republics of Tajikistan [tah-JEE-kih-stan], Uzbekistan [ooz-BEHK-ih-stan], and Turkmenistan [turk-MEN-ih-stan]. In the 1980s the Russian army invaded Afghanistan, beginning a prolonged period of fighting.

Because of the Russian occupation of his land, Najib [nah-JEEB] chose to study Russian in a university in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. After graduation he took a job as a translator at the international airport. His knowledge of Russian offered him a measure of financial security, but would prove to be both a blessing and a curse in the years that lay ahead.

The Fugitive

After Russian troops pulled out of Afghanistan, rebel Afghani troops who had fought against the Russian armies for years refused to accept any part of a Communist government. They continued the fight for total liberation of the nation. As fighting intensified, bombs began to fall on Kabul. Najib knew that because he had translated for the Russians, he would be looked upon as a traitor and would be executed if he was caught. He sought out a place to hide in the countryside, hoping to wait out the fighting.

But one night he learned that bombs had fallen in his family's neighborhood. He had to know whether his family was safe. He left the relative security of his hiding place and made his way through the rubble-strewn streets, pushing through the confused, panic-stricken crowds, to get to his home. When he arrived, he found that a bomb had struck his home. He and some friends scrambled through the wreckage that had been his family home. Exploding bombs provided the light that allowed Najib and his friends to continue their search. Buried beneath tons of brick and rubble, he found the bodies of his mother and father. But it was not until the next day that he found the body of his sister. His entire family was dead.

Escape to Russia

Najib returned to hiding, staying with one relative then another, then a friend, anyone who would hide him, even for a few days. For two years he lived like a criminal, unable to work or risk being seen outside the rural village. Slowly he realized that if he were to survive, he would have to leave Afghanistan.

Najib found a group of 15 people who were planning to flee Afghanistan. Some were former military commanders, but all of them were wanted by the rebels. Their plan was to flee to Russia. Ironic, Najib thought, that we must flee for our lives into the very country that brought this war on us in the first place.

Their plan was simple. They would flee north through Uzbekistan and Tashkent and on into Russia. From there they would make their way to Moscow, where they could lose themselves in the crowded city. They acquired false documents that would allow them to cross the borders in relative safety. The group set out, and after weeks of travel they finally reached their destination--Moscow.

Sudden Sickness

Most of the refugees continued on into western Europe. But Najib was experiencing serious health problems. His face had become paralyzed and numb, and he could not close one eye. He needed medical care before he could travel on.

Najib had to be careful when he walked the streets of Moscow. Police often stopped people to examine their documents, and when they saw that he was from Afghanistan, he was beaten and harrassed, simply because Russia had been at war with Afghanistan. For this reason Najib could not work and avoided being seen on the streets.

He found a clinic that specialized in neurological illnesses. There he was directed to the third floor. But Najib went to the second floor by mistake. He knocked on a door and was greeted by a nurse. He asked to see the doctor, but the nurse told him that the doctor had left. When he turned to go, she called after him. "Wait, maybe I can help you." Then she directed Najib to follow her down the corridor to another doctor's office. The doctor was just leaving, but she asked him to examine Najib, and he did.

The doctor prescribed several injections to treat the paralysis. The nurse, Ludmila, offered to administer the injections for him. Relieved, Najib thanked her and promised to return to the clinic as needed. The treatments lasted several months. During this time he and Ludmila became friends. When he told her how his family had been killed in the bombing of Kabul, and how he then fled his homeland. Ludmila understood, for she had lost her husband and son to death, too. A bond of trust grew between the two, and soon Ludmila was caring for Najib as if he were her son.

Although Najib's illness prevented him from escaping Russia, it opened the door for an even greater escape.

Ludmila was an Adventist. As she administered his injections, she shared her faith with this lonely and lost young man. She invited Najib to attend a great celebration that her church was planning in Moscow. Up until that time Najib had been a pious Muslim. He read the Koran and prayed five times a day, as his father had taught him to do. He had never set foot into a Christian church before. But out of love and respect for Ludmila, he accepted her invitation to attend the celebration.

New Faith, New Life

The people in Ludmila's church accepted Najib warmly, without questions. He had always believed that Jesus was a prophet, but when Ludmila offered him a Bible course to study, he accepted it and learned that Jesus was not only a prophet, but the Messiah. He completed the Bible studies, a year later took his stand for Jesus and was baptized.

Najib had applied for refugee status, but until his papers were approved, he could not safely work in Moscow. Someone suggested that he study, but any school that admitted him could be heavily fined if authorities learned that he was there without papers. Finally Najib received official refugee status and could legally work or study in Russia.

Najib will soon complete his studies. He would like to share his faith with other Afghani people, but he cannot return to his homeland until peace comes to his country. In the meantime, he will work wherever God places him.

"It was God who led me out of Afghanistan and protected me as I traveled to Moscow. It was in God's plan that I remain in Russia, where I could learn about Jesus Christ and study to serve Him. I believe that God will lead me in the future," he testifies. Recently Najib was invited to work among Muslims in Kyrgyzstan [KEER-geez-stan]. "Wherever God leads will be OK, for my life and my future are in His hands."

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Najib is a pseudonym used to protect the identity of this young man who is studying at a university in Russia.

This story originally appeared in the adult edition of Mission, 3rd quarter 2001, edited by Charlotte Ishkanian. Used by permission.