Ajmal arrives at his Tampa Bay home with painting supplies on Aug. 30, 2021, while preparing for the arrival of his wife and two daughters from Afghanistan. Ajmal was born in Afghanistan and was a teenager when the U.S. invaded in 2001. By the end of his teens, he'd started working as an interpreter for U.S. forces; in 2009, he came to the U.S. on a special visa for interpreters, joined the Army and became a citizen. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Ajmal, left, and his mother paint trim at the family’s new home on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Ajmal chooses balloons for his wife and children before their arrival from Germany at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. SHURAN HUANG | Special to the Times
Ajmal prepares to paint the master bedroom in his new home on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Ajmal patiently waits for the arrival of his wife and two daughters after a year of separation at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. He keeps looking at the evacuation gates as other Afghan refugees pass by. SHURAN HUANG | Special to the Times
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Ajmal gives his family a hug as soon as he sees them at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. SHURAN HUANG | Special to the Times
Ajmal and his oldest daughter embrace at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. SHURAN HUANG | Special to the Times
Ajmal gives his older daughter a kiss before the hotel shuttle arrives at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. SHURAN HUANG | Special to the Times
Ajmal walks out of the Dulles International Airport with his wife and their two daughters in Dulles, Va., on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. "I just want to get them out of here," says Ajmal. SHURAN HUANG | Special to the Times
Ajmal and his older daughter affectionately talk to each other at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. SHURAN HUANG | Special to the Times
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Ajmal plays with his younger daughter on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. SHURAN HUANG | Special to the Times
After a two-week harrowing trip from Afghanistan, to a refugee camp in Qatar, then to Germany, and now the United States, Ajmal's wife rests in the hotel lobby of a Comfort Inn & Suites. Ajmal checks the family in on Friday, Sept. 03, 2021, as their daughters play. Ajmal’s family left Afghanistan with only one luggage of belongings and a few boxes of food received from different camps along the way. “We have a beautiful house in Afghanistan,” Ajmal says. “Things changed overnight.” SHURAN HUANG | Special to the Times
Ajmal and his family sit for a portrait at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., before they head to Tampa on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021. SHURAN HUANG | Special to the Times
Ajmal cuddles his younger daughter as she falls asleep in his arms at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021, before their departure for home in Tampa. SHURAN HUANG | Special to the Times
Ajmal holds his youngest daughter as his wife adjusts the child’s clothes at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021. SHURAN HUANG | Special to the Times
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The family looks for their flight information on the departure board at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021. SHURAN HUANG | Special to the Times
Ajmal cuddles his younger daughter as they wait for the hotel shuttle to arrive at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. SHURAN HUANG | Special to the Times
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