'Our city is surrounded': Afghans must run a Taliban gauntlet to reach Kabul for U.S. evacuation
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • 3 years ago • 30 commentsBy: Dan De Luce and Saphora Smith
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WASHINGTON — Thousands of Afghans who are eligible for a U.S. evacuation out of the country now face one final life-and-death hurdle — getting to Kabul without being captured or killed by the Taliban.
The Biden administration this week emailed hundreds of Afghans who worked for the U.S. government telling them to prepare for evacuation to the U.S. in coming days, and has promised others will be flown to a third country soon. But the Afghans have to make their way to the capital of Kabul on their own in order to be evacuated.
Afghan allies of U.S. frantic for way out ahead of deadly Taliban advance
With the Taliban advancing against Afghan security forces in every corner of the country as U.S. troops withdraw, several Afghans who are eligible for a U.S. visa told NBC News they fear they will be stranded in far-flung towns and are struggling to find the money and means to get themselves and their families to Kabul.
"Our city is surrounded," said Mohammad, a 33-year-old IT technician in Kandahar who worked for the U.S. military. "It can fall to Taliban militants any time."
Afghans contacted by the U.S. government and offered flights to a military base in Virginia "have reached out to us begging for help because they do not have the resources to fly to Kabul," said Chris Purdy, project manager for Veterans for American Ideals at Human Rights First.
"These Afghans know they cannot travel by land because the Taliban have captured the roads, and they know if they stay where they are then the Taliban will find them and kill them in their homes," he said.
For the first U.S. evacuation expected next week, the Afghans were told to show up to Kabul for a final medical exam as soon as Monday, according to an email shared with NBC News and accounts from refugee advocacy groups.
But for Afghans outside of Kabul, getting to the capital requires reaching an airport safely for a local flight, and having enough money to pay for airfare. Dozens of Afghans have written to the nonprofit Association of War Allies saying they lacked the funds for the plane ticket or could not safely reach a regional airport, said Kim Staffieri, co-founder and executive director of the group.
U.S. Army veteran: I would not be alive were it not for my Afghan interpreter
"By not providing a way for those individuals to fly to Kabul to board their flight, the U.S. government is essentially abandoning them to their fate," said Purdy of Human Rights First.
But senior State Department officials told reporters on Wednesday that the U.S. could not transport the Afghans to Kabul as the U.S. military no longer had a country-wide presence and had pulled out most of its troops in line with a Sept. 11 deadline for withdrawal.
"In order to come on an evacuation flight, they would have to get themselves to Kabul," one of the senior officials said. "Obviously, we don't have national U.S. military presence. We don't have an ability to provide transportation for them."
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the administration was undertaking something "that was never initially envisioned" as part of the visa program for Afghans who worked as interpreters, drivers or other roles.
"And so, we are doing all that we can, consistent with conditions on the ground, consistent with the fact that the safety and security of the American people and our service members, our diplomats, other U.S. government personnel is also a priority for us," Price told reporters on Thursday.
'Pray for us'
Mohammad, the IT technician in Kandahar, asked not to be identified to avoid retribution by the Taliban. During his five-year stint working for the U.S. government, he said, he received three letters from the Taliban threatening to kill him if he didn't quit his job working with the "infidel Americans."
Refugee advocates vouched for his case, and he said he received an email from U.S. immigration authorities this week telling him he had been approved for a Special Immigrant Visa and needed to be ready to leave on a flight from Kabul to the U.S. within days.
Women wearing a burqa walk at a market in Kabul on July 21, 2021.Sajjad Hussein / AFP - Getty Images
But he said the Taliban have steadily gained ground in nearby districts, with the sound of gunfire and shelling keeping his family awake at night.
"We don't have any electricity here," he said. "We don't have (running) water."
Mohammad said driving to Kabul was out of the question as the Taliban controlled parts of the route and could possibly stop his car and find documents revealing his association with the Americans.
After selling his possessions, Mohammad said he bought a plane ticket for $85 to fly the 300 miles from Kandahar to Kabul on Saturday. He said he didn't have enough money to pay for his wife and six children to fly as well, so they will travel by bus but without any documents linking them to the U.S. For the moment, the road to the airport is still open, and he has asked a trusted friend to drive him to catch his flight. He said taking a taxi was too risky.
In the meantime, Mohammad will have to bid farewell to his mother, who did not qualify for a visa, and his brother, who also worked with the Americans but whose U.S. visa application is still in limbo, he said.
"I can't explain my pain. I can't tell you with words," he said. "Pray for us."
Biden administration to begin evacuation flights for Afghans who helped the U.S. in late July
Another potential evacuee, who did not want to be named because he was afraid of being targeted by the Taliban, said his paperwork for the Special Immigrant Visa program had been approved and he was waiting for a visa interview — one of the final steps before being cleared for a U.S. visa.
The 22-year-old from Jalalabad said he worked as an interpreter with a U.S. artillery unit between 2018 and 2020 in Laghman province. He said he translated for U.S. troops who were advising the Afghan National Army.
At first he tried to keep his job secret, he said, telling friends and relatives he worked as a pharmacist but slowly, knowledge of his real occupation spread through his hometown from cousin to cousin, friend to friend.
"They would spread the news just like coronavirus," he said, adding that now everyone there knows he worked as an interpreter for departing U.S. forces.
The young Afghan said he is afraid that if he stays in the country he will be captured by the Taliban and beheaded for having worked for the Americans, but he is also concerned that on the way to Kabul he could meet the same fate.
Jalalabad is only 100 miles from Kabul along a major highway — but the road cuts through areas contested by the Taliban.
Nevertheless, the interpreter said, when the U.S. embassy gives him a time for the visa interview he will risk the perilous trip because outside Afghanistan he has a future. "I don't have another choice," he said.
His plan to reach the capital safely is, as he put it, to use "Afghani tricks."
He will wear torn, old clothes, take a public bus along with civilians to Kabul and hope for the best, he said. His documents and perhaps a small amount of luggage he will send separately with a relative, he added.
In the meantime, every day he waits for the interview is another he fears for his life.
"The situation in Afghanistan day by day is getting worse, everyday you hear the news that this district has fallen into Taliban hands," he said.
He currently does not leave his house in Jalalabad, and is afraid to visit his family home a 40-minute drive outside the city. Single with no children, he will have to go alone but said he wished he could take his parents and siblings as well.
He said he did not care where the U.S. plane takes him.
"I would love to get out of Afghanistan as soon as possible," he said. "It would be life saving for me."
One former interpreter, who says he worked with U.S. special forces for seven years, said his "only option" to get to Kabul was to dress as a woman. He said he posed as the wife of a man who drove him to the capital from Kandahar, according to a video posted by the Association of Wartime Allies.
From Kabul to Virginia
The first evacuation expected next week involves about 2,500 Afghans, including 750 applicants and their families, who have cleared security vetting and had their paperwork approved, according to State Department officials. The group will be flown to the U.S. and taken to Fort Lee, a U.S. Army base in central Virginia, where the final steps for their visas will be handled along with a medical evaluation.
U.S. officials said an additional 4,000 Afghans, along with their families, will be evacuated to a third country or a U.S. military base overseas. The administration has yet to announce the third countries that will host the refugees but according to a source familiar with the discussions, Qatar has agreed to take in 2,000 Afghans and their families. The U.S. has also been talking to Kuwait about hosting the refugees, as NBC News previously reported.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with his Qatari counterpart on Thursday and is due to travel to Kuwait in coming days.
The Biden administration has come under pressure from lawmakers, veterans groups and refugee rights organizations in recent months over the fate of Afghans who face mortal danger from the Taliban because of their association with the United States. After initially indicating it had no plans to evacuate the Afghans, the administration has named an interagency team to oversee evacuations and President Joe Biden told reporters last month that "those who helped us are not going to be left behind."
Lawmakers have proposed legislation to try to expand the pool of Afghans who can enter the United States under the Special Immigrant Visa program, which was set up more than a decade ago for Afghans who worked with U.S. troops and diplomats.
A bipartisan majority in the House voted for a bill on Thursday, introduced by Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, that would increase the number of visas allotted to Afghans who worked for the U.S. government, streamline the application process and clarify the criteria for Afghans who worked for non-governmental organizations with U.S. funding.
About 20,000 Afghans have applied to the Special Immigrant Visa program, and the administration has said about half of those are not eligible for evacuation as their applications are at an early stage.
Lawmakers and activists have criticized the administration over their approach, arguing that the program has been plagued by bureaucratic delays and that the United States should move quickly to evacuate as many Afghans as possible under the program.
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At times this country really makes me fucking sick.
People that helped our military, and helped our government run things in Afghanistan; are being fucked over because the might mental midget in the White House is more concerned about meeting a fucking preset deadline for withdrawal than human beings. Biden planned on withdrawing troops from Afghanistan since he first took office. He has had at least 8 plus months to plan for this; and this is the best he can come up with?
As for Congress; it is too late now to worry about streamlining the application process. Even if they are granted a VISA they stand very little chance of making it to Kabul. Proving Congress is just a stupid as the moron in the White House.
Where is our military in all of this? You can't tell me we don't have the assets in the area to bomb the living hell out of the Taliban; and provide air escorts for ground caravans to get people that need to be evacuated to Kabul. Unfortunately, even if we do have the assets the CiC has to allow them to use them.
Meanwhile at our southern border people that have done jack shit of nothing for the US (other than getting on the government doll as soon as they arrive) are showing up and being freely let in.
This is a lesson to any foreign national that helps the US overseas. Do not trust us. Do not believe in us. Do not help us or be associated with us in any way. We will screw you over the first chance we get.
Just out of curiosity, how do you think a Predident Trump would have handled the Afghan ally component of the withdrawal he failed to materialize? I’m not picturing him welcoming thousands of brown people into the country. That might be why he had no real interest in ending our presence there, so he let Joe take care of it so he would not have to deal with the immigration aspect that his racist base would skewer him over.
He would send them all to whatever blue state had pissed him off that week.
Is Trump president? No, he isn't. We pulled the same shit in Vietnam under Nixon. It wasn't right then and it damn sure as hell isn't right now. Biden has to answer for this fucking mess, so quit deflecting to Trump.
Also, do some damn research before you make an ignorant post. Trump signed a deal to end US presence in Afghanistan Feb 29th 2020. It is Biden's job to make sure all sides carry through with the deal; or come up with a new deal if he thinks Trump's deal is bad. Biden chose "none of the above"- set a new time table for withdrawal; and isn't holding the Taliban accountable for violating their end. Biden has had 8 plus months to plan for the withdrawal. He is CiC and damn well can use the US military to make the Taliban pay for violating their end. If Trump had won the election and pulled this shit the left would have blasted him to no end; and rightfully so.
From the same article.
Just out of curiosity do the left plan on holding Biden accountable for any damn thing he does? Or will his entire term be one long "But Trruuummmmppppp!!!!!!!" deflection?
You mean like Biden is doing with the illegals that are crossing the Southern border- shipping them off to red and swing states?
Is Trump president?
No. I said “out of curiosity”, what part of that was unclear?
Also, do some damn research before you make an ignorant post. Trump signed a deal to end US presence in Afghanistan Feb 29th 2020.
Oh, so he had a plan then? What was his plan for helping the brown allies who were instrumental for years? You like to post a lot of shit but nothing about that.
What part of this didn't you understand?
Do I believe that Trump had a perfect plan for getting all of the nationals that aided the US out? No, but I damn well sure believe he would have used the US military to protect them; and make the Taliban pay for violating the deal. I also believe that the left would have blasted him for both the failure to protect those that aided us, and trusting the Taliban. I have absolutely no problem with that.
Seems the left can't hold Biden accountable for anything, at any time.
Define brown people.
Sounds racist.
People like the ones Donald Trump said he personally saw openly celebrating the fall of the World Trade Center on 9/11.
Do I believe that Trump had a perfect plan for getting all of the nationals that aided the US out? No, but I damn well sure believe he would have used the US military to protect them
Baloney. There is no way in hell Donald Trump would have endorsed bringing tens of thousands of middle eastern allies over as immigrants. You know this.
I noticed your comment was flagged. . . I wonder why?
Prove it. You are so big on demanding proof. Prove Trump didn't have a plan to bring Afghan nationals that aided the US over.
Until then all you have is rampant TDS, with a severe case of "But Trruuummmmppppp!!!!!" cover for Biden.
LOL! The Turd Reich had no plan on anything except how to line his pockets, and those who paid for their positions - how to line their pockets!
So your defense is for me to prove a negative? I’ll pass. That’s right up there with “prove god doesn’t exist”.
You mean these people?
None of your anti-Trump BS has proven that Trump didn't have a plan for evacuating Afghan nationals that aided the US. Only thing you are doing is ignoring Biden's complete and utter inept response to the plight of those Afghans expecting the US to honor their commitments.
No, I expect you to prove your post. You stated it. Back it up with real evidence.
Till then it is just more TDS garbage in an effort to avoid blaming the current moron in the White House.
You are asking me to prove that something does not exist. Even you should be smarter than that.
"But Trruuummmmppppp!!!!!!!" Just make the most outlandish BS statement as possible; and expect it to be taken as gospel. When asked for proof- spin faster and harder, and deny, deny, deny!
WTF, the left spends every waking second worrying about Trump! You (I mean collectively all of the left) do realize there is a new moron in the White House fucking things up right? He has been at it for several months now. He has several monumental fuck ups to his credit like the border crisis; removing sanctions on the Russian pipeline; letting China walk all over the US; and pretending that the Democrats end goal for all of these new illegal immigrants entering the US isn't amnesty- while Democrats in Congress work on a bill to grant exactly that.
I can’t believe I need to spell this out for you, but here goes: how does one prove that something does not exist? Should I spend the next six months combing through everything Donald Trump to find something that has zero chance of existing? When I finally get to that conclusion are you not still within your rights to say that I just didn’t look hard enough? If you guys had any notion of what reasonable debate looks like you’d have half a shot at having one. Instead, you cling to the mantras of TDS and your perceived lingering refusal on our part to accept that Hillary lost. You are a national embarrassment that refuses to go away or even attempt to be worthy of discussion.
Just out of curiosity, try.
Now tell us how this is all President Biden's fault. Whoops, you already did.
Contrary to MSNBC's daily drumming, Biden is now responsible - or at least in charge.
We have the greatest air force on earth. Why cant we start removing these people immediately?
Ask your president, he's the CiC.
In the meantime, he's far too busy flying and busing un-vaccinated illegals all the US at taxpayer expense
The Air Force has to be able to get those C-130s and other transport aircraft to a safe place to grab the refugees
Yea, go ahead and advertise that move, Captain Strategy.
We all knew that when we left it would become a shit show.
The only alternative would be to stay there indefinitely.
Time for some of the Middle East countries to take up some slack and police their own backyards.
Technically China in this instance. They are the ones that signed the mineral development contract with the current Afghan government.
Maybe the Taliban will even honor it once they take over?
Outside of China which countries did you envision taking over?
Pakistan and India are too busy with their own conflict. Iran is busy with Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon; besides do we really want them gaining more mineral rich territory? Other than that I am seeing an awful lot of small border countries that wouldn't be able to take on something as big as Afghanistan.
In their backyard doesn't mean it has to be a connecting country....