The Afghan Girl Who Lost Her Face In A Drone Strike

This is a long-read, but one that is well worth your time. Journalist May Jeong did an awesome investigation for The Intercept by retracing the case of Aisha Rashid, an Afghan girl who lost her whole family and her face in an American drone strike in Kunar, eastern Afghanistan. I know Aisha's case well since I have written about it myself in 2014. But many people have never heard about her.

Aisha, then just four years old, barely survived the strike. Family members tried to help her as much as possible and took her to several hospitals, including one in Afghanistan's capital Kabul, where even former Afghan President Hamid Karazai met Aisha. But in the end, Aisha was taken to the United States, where foster parents were found for her. However, until today, Aisha's relatives in Afghanistan claim that this happened without their permission, and that the U.S. just wanted to hide what its military did to the girl and her family.