The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has raised so many concerns and questions.
That's especially true for people in Connecticut who have family there.
About 500 Afghans have settled in the state in the past five years, according to a local refugee organization.
Heart-wrenching images coming from Afghanistan are being watched around the world, including by Hewad Hemat.
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He lives in New Haven with his wife and kids.
“I'm saddened and I'm angry because this thing was preventable,” said Hemat.
He’s thinking of his parents, brothers and friends still in that now chaotic country.
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“I was receiving calls from them. They were crying. They're worried. They're scared and they don't know how to evacuate,” said Hemat.
Hemat fears his family there could be in danger because of his work with the U.S. military.
He was able to resettle in the U.S. with a special visa in 2014.
“There's chaos and no one knows what's happening and what will happen,” said Hemat.
Because of all the emotions Hemat did not listen to President Biden’s address on Monday.
But watching closely was Quinnipiac University political science associate professor Wesley Renfro.
“Right now he's quite strident, and I think that's a little remarkable,” said Renfro.
Renfro believes while it took a little time for Biden to speak out he is owning his decision for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan and does not believe it was a mistake.
“I think that Joe Biden is really counting on the events on the ground in Afghanistan being important to folks who really, deeply follow politics, but not resonating that deeply with average Americans who are concerned about the economy and the pandemic and so many other things,” said Renfro.
Renfro points out that dynamic could shift depending on how the withdrawal and the situation in Afghanistan unfolds.
For now Hemat is pleading with the president to help evacuate those left behind.
“No one will be left alive. So that's my fear,” said Hemat.
Hemat worries this withdrawal will have a long-lasting impact which could lead to the U.S. losing the trust of not just Afghans but others in that region.
