Taiba Sultana traveled to Pakistan recently in hopes of bringing her mother back to the Lehigh Valley to continue cancer treatment.
Her mother died before she could make it. After the funeral, all Sultana wanted to do was return home to Easton.
But as conflict escalated in the region, Sultana earlier this week found herself stranded, traveling between multiple airports as she sought to return to her family to “begin healing together.”
Sultana, a former Easton City Council member, shared her story Friday as she spoke out about the wider impact of the war in Iran, which began last Saturday when U.S. and Israeli forces launched an attack that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Sultana said in her quest to return to Easton from Pakistan, she spent more than 50 hours traveling, including “34 hours without foot and sleep, surrounded by hundreds of frightened families, unsure if I would ever see my children again.”
Two of her confirmed flights, via Qatar and Dubai, were canceled, she said. Saudi airspace remained open, however, so she quickly booked another flight out of Riyadh.
“When we boarded the plane … everyone looked exhausted but relieved,” she said, standing outside the Northampton County Government Center in Easton on Friday. “Some families had already been traveling for more than a day. Children were sleeping in their parents’ arms.”
They boarded the plane, but it did not move. Sultana said it stayed there for three hours before everyone was ordered off. Then, they learned a drone hit diplomatic facilities in Riyadh, and flights were halted, she said.
Sultana said there were hundreds of stranded travelers, many of them Pakistani-Americans or Saudi-Americans, just trying to get home. They were taken to nearby hotels.
“I was sitting there grieving my mother, exhausted and terrified, wondering if I would ever see my own children again,” she said.
Many passengers were making calls to family to tell them they love them. It would end up being 34 hours before she could leave, during which she did not sleep or eat, she said.
“Those hours were some of the most traumatic of my life,” she said.
Sultana, noting the Lehigh Valley is home to many immigrants, said her ordeal could reflect what other area residents are experiencing.
“They live in two countries basically,” she said. “One where their parents live, and another where their children live.”
Sultana, a Democrat who has announced a primary bid for the 18th District state Senate seat held by Sen. Lisa Boscola, has criticized the U.S. military action against Iran, and said Friday it was clear the war extends beyond the battlefield, impacting airports, classrooms and families.
“President Donald Trump said his approach would make America safer,” she said. “But as I sat in that airport for 34 hours without food and sleep, surrounded by terrified families, it felt painfully clear that reckless escalation is putting Americans at risk.”
Sultana, who was elected in 2021, represented Easton’s South Side residents. She lost her re-election bid during last year’s primary.
Sultana also ran for the state House in 2024, but she lost to incumbent Robert Freeman in the Easton-based 136th District.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.