The evacuation of the cover girl of "National Geographic" .. the Afghan Mona Lisa to Italy
The Italian government said Thursday that Sharbat Gula, the famous green-eyed "Afghan girl" who appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine in 1985, has been evacuated to Italy.
And a statement by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, in Italy, said that "the Afghan citizen, Sharbat Gula, has arrived in Rome."
The statement said Gula had asked for help in leaving Afghanistan after the Taliban regained power last August.
It was assisted as part of a broader Italian evacuation program for Afghan nationals and the government's plan to receive and integrate them into society.
In the wake of the Taliban's takeover, tens of thousands of Afghans were evacuated. There have been many attacks in the country and the humanitarian situation there is considered catastrophic.
The country is currently facing starvation due to lack of cash in addition to life under the Taliban regime, revenge killings, and daily bombings.
Gula caught the attention of world public opinion when her picture was published on the cover of National Geographic magazine in June 1985. The picture was subsequently used widely to publicize the plight of refugees.
The iconic image, taken by photographer Steve McCurry, earned Jolla the nickname "Mona Lisa of the Afghan War."
McCurry took the picture of her in December 1984, when Gula was 12 years old in a refugee camp.
She had lived in Pakistan since the then-Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979.
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