By Trinity Carter.
It takes real selflessness to give up your life to help another.
Danielle Barnes, a retired Airforce colonel, helped an old friend from Afghanistan who had arrived in America during Operation Allies Welcome. After her deployment, Barnes fell out of touch with Hamayun, a scarf seller from Kabul, and after the fall of Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2020, Barnes started to contact Hamayun.
“I met Hamayun at a bazaar less than two weeks after I arrived in Kabul in 2003… [Hamayun] served as my personal Dari instructor three times a week in Afghanistan,” Barnes stated.
Barnes worked outside the compound daily in Kabul and traveled throughout the country. She wore civilian clothes, which usually included a scarf on her head and a 9mm on her side hidden by long traditional Afghan shirts. Barnes wished to continue to learn Dari to gain ‘street credit’ since her duties in Afghanistan required daily interactions with Afghans outside the wire.
“The language skills [Hamayun] taught me were truly life-saving. I soon discovered that the lessons he provided were a weapon more powerful than the 9mm on my side. I am confident Hamayun is the reason I did not return in a flag-draped casket.”
Photo: Danielle Barnes and Hamayun and his wife reunite for the first time in decades during Operation Allies Welcome at Camp Atterbury, Ind. Oct. 2021. Barnes first met Hamayun on a deployment decades ago. (Photo provided by Danielle Barnes)
Hamayun contacted Barnes in July of 2020 to request an updated letter of recommendation for the U.S. Special Immigrant Visas (SIV), which he initially applied for in 2017. He called Barnes in desperation and tears to ask for help as the state of Afghanistan was changing.
Hamayun received threats from the Taliban many times due to his work with Barnes and the U.S. forces in Afghanistan. His uncle and uncle’s wife had been executed in Hamayun’s home by the Taliban. He knew it was a matter of time before the Taliban found him as well.
When Barnes asked Hamayun how he dared to navigate the dangerous streets of Kabul, he stated, “Either way, my life is in danger. If I don’t leave, I will die by the Taliban. If I attempt to get to the airport, I may die. Either way, if I die, I prefer to die trying to get to the airport [to escape Afghanistan].”
After hearing Hamayun’s story of escaping Afghanistan, Barnes felt the need to assist in aiding their struggle as he had many times in Afghanistan. Barnes was told by Hamayun that he was getting evacuated to Camp Atterbury, Ind. Barnes insisted on going to this Army installation with her husband and seeing her old friend.
Barnes mentioned that when they arrived at Camp Atterbury, the two couples reunited in shock and happy tears. After seeing Hamayun again after all those years, Barnes decided to volunteer to give back to Operation Allies Welcome as an activity lead. She started classes and activities for the Afghan guests to learn and interact together.
Photo: Danielle Barnes stands in the door frame of a building during a deployment in 2003. (Photo provided by Danielle Barnes)
Barnes’ favorite activity she created was a female’s exercise class. She noted that the number of people attending the class increased tremendously from 15 females at the beginning to 55 at the end of her time volunteering. “Volunteering at Camp Atterbury was the best time I have ever had in my life,” Barnes exclaimed.
While in the Air Force, she noted the need to live life to the fullest. After leaving the service, she started living out of her van. Then after volunteering with Task Force Atterbury, Barnes decided to return to that same lifestyle to travel and explore life. “Being in the service has taught me that tomorrow is not always a given. That’s why my husband and I decided to sell all of our things, except items precious to us, and live the van life.”
Hamayun began to go through the final stages of the resettlement process. During this time, Barnes learned of Hamayun’s need for a home. She offered to give up her van life and bring the Afghan couple into her family.
“My husband and I paused van-life and traveled indefinitely–there is nowhere else on this planet we should be now, but right here, with them.” Barnes and the Hamayun now live in the same house in Reno, Nev. as one family. Now Hamayun and his wife are adjusting to life in America.
“Recently, I went grocery shopping with Hamayun and his wife, and they were so overwhelmed by all the choices. In Afghanistan, they have limited choices for items. But in America, there are numerous choices for groceries. It is very overwhelming for them adjusting to the American lifestyle. If anyone would like to volunteer, even the small things, like helping them adjust, can make a large difference.”
Barnes encourages everyone willing to help out the cause to research their local resettlement agency in their state and learn how to provide help. “It’s a miracle, a blessing, and the greatest joy of my life to reunite with them and now become their family in the U.S.”
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Story: This article by Sgt. Trinity Carter was originally published on December 17, 2021 by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. DVIDS published content is in the public domain.
Top Photo: Danielle Barnes (left) with her husband and Hamayun (third from the left) with his wife enjoy a meal together at a restaurant during their first day reuniting in Reno, Nevada, November 25, 2021. Barnes volunteered at Camp Atterbury where she reunited with Hamayun after decades, where she met him while deployed. (Photo provided by Danielle Barnes)
