On the same day, Safi was also at Kabul airport to give a lift to his brother’s family, who also wanted to leave the country. The taxi driver says he found Sohail on the ground alone and crying. When he was unable to find the baby’s parents, Safi decided to take the baby home. Safi has three daughters of his own and said his mother’s greatest wish before she died was that he would have a son.
He told Reuters: “I love this baby. If his family is found, I will give him to them. If not, I will raise him myself”. Safi named the baby Mohammad Abed and posted pictures of his own children and Sohail together on his Facebook page.
At this, Safi’s neighbors recognized the missing baby, having seen photos of Sohail from a previously translated Reuters article. Sohail’s parents asked relatives who were still in Afghanistan to contact taxi driver Safi. He was offered a slaughtered sheep, a few kilograms of walnuts and clothing, but did not want to give up the child just like that.
He first wanted to be evacuated from Afghanistan, just like his brother. An attempt by Sohail’s family to get him back through help from the Red Cross also failed. They then reported the kidnapping to the local Taliban police. Safi was briefly arrested, denied that it was a kidnapping. He said he was just taking care of the baby.
More than 800 euros
Ultimately, an arrangement was made in which Sohail’s family paid more than 800 euros for the five months in which he cared for their son. According to the Taliban, Sohail was handed over to his family in Kabul on Saturday. “We must return the baby to its father and mother. This is my sole responsibility,” his grandfather said. “My wish is that he return to them.”
Sohail’s parents have now settled in the US state of Michigan after their evacuation.
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