Italy gives asylum to the “Afghan girl with green eyes” from the iconic cover of National Geographic from 1985

Sharbat Gula became the face of the Afghan war after the photograph was captured in a refugee camp in Pakistan at age 12.

Afghan Sharbat Gula, famous for Steve McCurry’s 1985 portrait for the cover of National Geographic, arrived in Rome as part of the Italian asylum and evacuation program from Afghanistan, the government announced today.

Mario Draghi’s Executive confirmed that the arrival of the 49-year-old Afghan woman responds to requests from civil society, specifically non-governmental organizations active in Afghanistan.

Like many of his compatriots, Sharbat Gula had asked these entities to help them leave their country after the Taliban took control of them last August., taking advantage of the departure of US troops.

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Sharbat Gula became the face of the Afghan war after her piercing green eyes were captured in a Iconic photograph taken in a refugee camp in Pakistan when he was only 12 years old.

Years later, Gula was arrested in Pakistan in 2016 for living in the country on fraudulent identity documents and deported to war-torn Afghanistan. But Gula, a widow and mother of four, finally found her safe haven after arriving in Italy as part of the West’s evacuation of Afghans following the Taliban’s takeover of the country, the Italian government said on Thursday.

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In this way, the Italian Government “promoted and organized” their transfer to Italy within the framework of its program for the evacuation of Afghans to guarantee their “reception and integration”.

A young Gula surprised the world with the strength of her face and the power of her intense green eyes, thanks to a portrait made by Steve McCurry in a camp in Pakistan with which he illustrated a report on Afghan refugees in June 1985.

So, right away became a symbol of the drama and vicissitudes of the Afghans, which at that time was in full war for the invasion of the Soviet Union. (I)

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