An emotional reunion between two children who arrived in the U.S. from Afghanistan and their aunt who lives in Northern Virginia was caught on video -- but their ordeal is far from over.
The children are being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where they saw their aunt, Ferishta, for the first time in-person in years.
"That moment was the best moment in my life, not only for me, but also for them," Ferishta said.
The road to this reunion and their rescue from Afghanistan was lengthy and dangerous.
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
The siblings, just 8 and 12 years old, lost their mother in the suicide bombing at the airport and then got separated from their dad in the chaos.
The children still don't know about their mother's death, and their father and older brother have not yet made it out of Kabul.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Retired Lt. General John Bradley helped get the siblings out, working on evacuations for many hours a day for the last several weeks.
"We are working several avenues to try to get those two out of Kabul and out of Afghanistan, but then the process of trying to get them approval to come to the United States will be lengthy," Bradley said.
The hardest part for Ferishta was leaving the children behind at Walter Reed to continue their treatment. Soon, they will be joining her in Alexandria, Virginia.
"It was so hard to say goodbye," Ferishta said.
For now, Ferishta has given her niece a teddy bear, her nephew a remote-controlled car, to entertain them while they round the corner to their new lives.
