The sisters Sara and Asma, aged 21 and 19 respectively, and their colleague Shahida, had left their native Afghanistan several months ago as the Taliban took power in the country, the Polish state news agency reported.
They found shelter in neighbouring Pakistan, aided by Ascend, an American organisation that offers climbing classes.
After training in the Hindu Kush mountains under the guidance of Polish mountaineer Łukasz Kocewiak, the three Afghan women were invited to the Kraków Mountain Festival in southern Poland.
They arrived in the historic Polish city in early December and were overwhelmed by its tourist attractions including the Old Town district and Wawel Castle, according to Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart from the Polish Medical Mission (PMM) charity.
Impressed by Poland and feeling safe in the country, the three Afghan climbers decided to stay on, applying to enroll in an English-language management-and-marketing programme at Kraków’s Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Academy, PAP reported.
While preparing for their studies, they will take an intensive course in Polish, while pursuing their passion for climbing. Before the end of the year, they plan to scale Poland’s Babia Góra peak.
Pixabay License; Image by Jerzy Górecki from Pixabay
At a news conference following the Kraków Mountain Festival last week, Sara, Asma and Shahida said they wanted to stay in Poland before the situation in Afghanistan improves.
“I miss my family and friends, but I can’t imagine going back now,” Asma said.
Their studies and stay in Kraków will be financed by Ascend, which has already helped dozens of Afghanistan’s female climbers find shelter in democratic countries, such as Germany, Ireland and Chile, PAP reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP