Stephanie Mast
speaker
221 appearances
2 recordings
2 series
first heard Feb 2025
last heard Feb 2025
Stephanie Mast’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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Appearances
And we started exactly what we were going to do back in 2019. It just went through. Same doctorate. Same doctor, went through every medical appointment that was recommended, everything that we could possibly do. And to see her when we did get her finally, she wasn't the same baby as she was in the hospital.
She had in the hospital with all the service members took a lot of pictures of her and she had these big brown eyes and big smile, just happy baby, just would smile with her whole body. And when we saw her, when I saw her for the first time, I actually wondered if it was the same child because her face was closed off. And she was very fearful and scared. She would hardly look up.
And I mean, just the fear and trauma on her face was just, I've never seen that in a child before. And it wasn't until I saw, like she had a dress on. I saw the scar on her. Like she has a very distinct scar on her leg. I was like, that's her. And I just, I could not believe it. But when she came home, I mean, she had lice, parasites, just emotional trauma, just everything.
So it was kind of like the peeling back layers of an onion, just loving on her and pouring into her as much as we possibly could.
very much so so now today she looks like her baby photos it's like you can see it's the same person big eyes just very expressive and it's like there there she is like that's that's the the true her but what she endured during that time there's uh one story that just i mean our life we are so blessed here in the states not to know
the degree of violence and just that other parts of the world have i was carrying her out to the car we were picking up our boys from school and um there was a community that was being built next to us and they're roofing and they were going pop pop pop pop pop with a nail gun and i had her on my hip and when she heard the sound of the nail gun she went oh and she looked at me
and the the look on her eyes her eyes were fear like are we going to run is it danger and she was looking to me to see how i was going to respond and when i and i and i saw that i was just like it broke my heart like that she knew that that she has obviously been exposed to that and then just you know like any other parent would just be like it it's okay and explained it and move on.
But she's amazingly resilient and come so far.
Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is the day the FBI showed up at the door. And as a mom, literally bringing my kids in through the door from school, keys were still in the lock. And I get a knock at the door, and there were two agents there. And I had a baby. I went to my oldest son. I was like, take him in the room and watch him. I've got to talk to some people outside.
And my son wanted to play outside. He's like, I don't want to do that. I was like, honey, the FBI is here and I need to go do this. And he's like, they're real? Like almost like it was the Avengers or something.
And that was the first moment where, and it was actually, they were there because of the terrorists and like, like there was a whole, like it was them trying to sort through what Joshua had reported. But at that time, that was the first, like that was when it started to change of like, oh, there's going to be conflict. And that was heartbreaking and brought pain.
Fear, obviously natural fear, because it's not about us, it's about her. And so the whole time, I mean, when she was initially turned over,
What I wrestled with for the longest time is that she could go through her whole life in Afghanistan with a completely different identity and never know that she had another name and that she wasn't anonymous, that she was loved by hundreds and prayed for by hundreds of people. So for her to be at stake again-
after all of this blood, sweat, tears, prayer, everything that we've invested, for that to be up for grabs again is just, the natural instinct is fear, protection, just wanting to do everything you can to keep one person safe and just wonder why people can't see the facts. Like we said, we're open books. Like, sure, you want the facts? It's all here.
Well, and what was amazing is that early on, they said, well, we're impartial. We're not going to tip our fingers on the scale of justice. But what we have experienced is the exact opposite. They very much have, the federal government, they have.
Well, and I mean, on a personal, to an extent, they did do a good job in silencing us. And the reason why we haven't gone out guns blazing before is because we're trying to protect her and our family. Like just parental instincts kick in. And to answer your question, what would happen to her? It would devastate her. She's five and a half. She has no idea who they are. We are her family.
Her brothers are her brothers and her life and the freedom. Taliban. Women. The freedom she has that now she, I mean, it took a while for her to loosen up, but she enjoys that now. It would be absolutely devastating to her.
The story's yet to be told.
backed us up like the fbi interviewed all these people and so from day one they're like oh yeah they knew they just and and i would say they have done the media they've done a good job at painting a narrative that's not true of the story they have no record of that but they've made it about him or us. Like we are just off. It's about her.
Well, it's about her, but we're one of many people that have cared for her. Yes, we are her adoptive parents and we have advocated for her, but we represent a lot of people that do that. So it's not just like, who do they think they are? This is many people that have stepped forward to protect her.
Showing 201–220 of 221 · page 11 of 12
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