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By J.C. Hallman, Oklahoma Watch
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On the afternoon of Aug. 26, 2021, Ismail Safi brought his wife and six children to the Abbey Gate of Kabul International Airport. The Americans were leaving Afghanistan. Crowds of individuals who had worked for the Americans and their families lined up, despite threats of violence, to be screened for seats on a flight out of the country.

At approximately 5:50 p.m., as the family approached the gate, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device. That blast and another nearby killed 13 Americans and hundreds of Afghans; the bombings became a political cudgel and a violent symbol of the messy end of the longest war in American history.

Ismail Safi’s family was separated in the blast, said Ghulam Nabi Safi, Ismail Safi’s brother. Three of the children were initially missing. Two turned up quickly. But S.S., an 8-year-old girl, appeared to have vanished.

She remained missing for several days. Then her family received a call.

S.S. was on her way to Oklahoma.

What happened next — how a traumatized Afghan child ended up in the custody of an evangelical family she had never met, and how a new guardianship judge with a peculiar background handled the fight by her uncle and biological parents to bring her home — is a story that exposes structural weaknesses at the heart of Oklahoma’s guardianship system: sealed records, shortened hearings, conflicts of interest, and judges working without adequate training or oversight.

It is not a story unique to child guardianships. Multiple attorneys, former judges and national experts who spoke with Oklahoma Watch — some on the condition of anonymity — described systemic problems in both the adult and child guardianship systems in Oklahoma. In the former case, the crisis will grow acute as Oklahoma’s population ages.

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A hand-curated list of the best journalism from across the state:

• Mullin’s DHS nomination advances to full Senate (Oklahoma Watch)

• Stitt appoints senior adviser to University of Oklahoma governing board (Oklahoma Voice)

• Oklahoma House passes bill to ease medical record fees (KSWO)

• DNA from zip ties leads to charges in 2008 Tulsa murder case (2 News Oklahoma)

• Man found by OKC father in son’s bedroom arrested, has lengthy criminal history (KOCO)

• Tulsa’s affordable housing push draws national attention — and a touring group of real estate pros (The Oklahoma Eagle)

• ‘Blind trust is the opposite of oversight’: Audit shows alleged embezzlement, missing funds at Varnum Schools (StateImpact Oklahoma)

• Some of Oklahoma’s thousands of orphaned wells could find a new purpose under this state bill (StateImpact Oklahoma)

• Oklahoma lawmakers start preparation for the 2030 Decennial Census (KOSU)

• Sooner Mall asks Norman for tax rebate to renovate (The Oklahoman)*

• House advances bill barring Oklahomans who don’t select party affiliation from the rolls (Oklahoma Voice)

• One dead in officer-involved shooting outside WinStar Casino (KXII)

• Cherokee barber has been cutting hair for nearly seven decades in Sallisaw (Cherokee Phoenix)

A daily briefing connecting Oklahomans to the state’s best journalism — and original content from Oklahoma Memo. Got a news tip? Somebody I need to interview? Message me at [email protected].