Husband, wife both robbed 2 weeks apart in Houston after leaving violence in Afghanistan

HOUSTON – Husband and wife both robbed two weeks apart after just moving to Houston from Afghanistan. 

The husband, Zamarai Azad, said he and his family emigrated to the U.S. five years ago because he worked for the U.S. government in Afghanistan and his life and the lives of his family members were at risk. 

"I left everything there. I have a house, mom, dad, sister, brother -- everything to save my life and my kids' life," Azad said. "(When) you work with Americans, everybody knows it. So they can kill us anytime." 

He said his wife found their lives at risk in Houston recently when both were robbed at gunpoint in two separate incidents. 

Azad said he makes his living as an Uber driver. On July 24, he said, he was waiting for a fare in the Galleria area when two young women approached him and asked for money. 

"They say, 'You got some money?' I said, 'No.' I thought they were homeless. They were asking for money, something. So right away, one of them pulled out the gun and point it here," Azad said. 

He said the women took his wallet and cellphone and fled. 

Then, on Wednesday, he said his wife, Laila, who speaks very little English, was on her way to see friends, with their newborn son in the car, when she was robbed. He said a man and a woman blocked her car in with their vehicle just a few feet from her apartment. 

"(The) lady had a gun and the guy had a knife. He point the knife to her head and said, 'Don't move.' He got the phone and the lady got the purse," Azad said. 

Laila said she is still shaken and afraid to leave her home alone. 

When Azad was asked if he ever got robbed in Afghanistan, he responded, "Never." 

The irony of fleeing a war zone only to be threatened with guns in his new, supposedly safer home isn't lost on Azad. He said he came to Texas by choice and still looks forward to building a new life for his family.