As conflict, poverty, and persecution continue to force people to flee their homelands in the Middle East and North Africa, we share the story of an inspiring Afghan family who have not allowed their perilous journey to be defined by dread…
A knock on the door once meant possible death for Armita and her family.
“Today, the police came to our house and knocked violently on the door, and we were really scared,” she wrote to SAT-7 in the summer of 2025. “I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to be deported, and I don’t want to be killed.”
Born in Afghanistan, Armita spent most of her childhood and teenage years in Tajikistan. Her family had fled their homeland due to the violence there – Armita’s uncle had been killed by the Taliban for his Christian faith.
It was a loss that colored the lives of the family, especially for Armita’s father, Alborz. Consumed by anger after his brother’s death, he struggled for years with a desire for revenge. It was only later, through reflecting on the words of Jesus, that he came to forgiveness: a turning point that reshaped not only his own life, but the spiritual foundation of the family.
Nevertheless, even in Tajikistan, fear continued to pervade their lives. Deportations came without warning. Families disappeared overnight. Friends called to say they had been sent back to a country where faith could cost them everything. There was no safe ground. Only the constant, exhausting vigilance of people who knew they were one knock away from catastrophe.
“20 more families have been deported,” Armita wrote to SAT-7 in December 2025. “I am really tired of this life we have here, always living in fear.”
Love in Action
Yet the journey of this family is not one defined by dread. Instead, it is a story of love, courage, and active faith.
They traveled across Tajikistan sharing the Gospel and serving new believers who had no churches or Christian resources. Armita said that even people who had wanted to kill her father started reading the Bible!
Looking back, Armita reflected that although the family longed to leave Tajikistan, “It always seemed as though the Lord stopped us from leaving, like He was saying: now is not the time for you to leave this country.”
Over the years, Armita – the oldest of three children – wrote regularly to SAT-7. She had grown up watching SAT-7 PARS children’s programs and had developed a deep connection with presenters and the Viewer Support Team. And through every challenge, SAT-7 PARS remained present, supporting the family in prayer.
But Armita’s messages were never just about danger. She wrote to share prayers for others and offer encouragement.
“As Christians, we believe that changing the world starts from within our hearts,” she said, responding to a children’s program. “The world becomes a better place when people’s hearts are changed, and this can only happen through the love and grace of Jesus Christ.”
Her theology was anything but abstract. It had been forged under real pressure, in a place where naming your belief could bring violence to your door. “Love is the fundamental basis of our faith,” she wrote, “not just emotional love, but love shown in action: the kind that feeds the hungry, gives hope to the sorrowful, forgives enemies.”
She had seen what hatred could do. Still, she wrote about forgiveness. About loving enemies. About overcoming evil with good.
A New Life
The family spent years – Armita’s entire young life – living faithfully under pressure; fear a constant companion to faith. But at the start of 2026, their lives changed completely: Armita and her family were finally able to flee Tajikistan, finding sanctuary in a safe country in the West.
The opportunity came at a crucial time as the risks, especially for girls and young women in Afghanistan, were intensifying: “In Tajikistan, deportations have started again, and we are very scared,” Armita had written to SAT-7 a few months earlier. “Girls like me who have not married yet are being forced into marriages in Afghanistan. I don’t even know how to express the terror we are experiencing.”
Thankfully, the family is now safe and settling into a new life in a country where they can practice their faith freely and see a future. Armita, now age 19, is looking forward to going to college.
“I am so happy and grateful to the Lord,” she said. “I am grateful for each and every one of you and for your prayers. And I am happy that the Lord has said, for now, that our time of serving in Tajikistan has come to an end and it is the beginning of a new chapter, a new life, and a new ministry in a different country.”
And the terror that once followed each knock on the door has fallen silent.
“Finally, after all these years, I can see my family and [we can] smile together without any fear,” Armita said. “When someone knocks on our door, I no longer fear that it could be the police coming to deport us.
“I know that whoever it is can’t harm us anymore.”
Read more inspiring stories of faith from SAT-7’s 30-year history here.
Please Pray
- As World Refugee Day is marked on June 20, pray that families across the Middle East and North Africa who have been forced to flee conflict, persecution, and instability may find safety, protection, and hope for the future.
- Give thanks that Armita and her family have finally found safety after years of living with the threat of deportation, and pray for wisdom, peace, and provision as they begin a new life in a new country.
- Pray that other Christian families who have been forced to leave their homelands may continue to be witnesses of God’s love, forgiveness, and hope wherever He places them.
Names in this story have been changed to protect their identities and featured image is representative.
