We have heard stories about the Taliban and other desperate Afghans making it difficult for Americans and SIVs/allies to enter the airport.
But now there are more disturbing stories that show that it is not just the Taliban—the United States makes it difficult for people to escape.
Matt Zeller, a former CIA officer, helped bring 500 Afghan interpreters to the airport. They are some of the highest on the rescued list, and they miraculously arrived at the airport with personal help. But the State Department shut them out, According to the “New York Times” report.
A former CIA official organized the rescue of 500 Afghan interpreters and other special visa holders.
They arrived at the airport smoothly.
*Then was expelled by the State Department*https://t.co/RUcwJuxS80 pic.twitter.com/JMhN4c75kY
-Eric Umansky (@ericuman) August 24, 2021
By the way, the United States is rejecting former military interpreters.
They are one of the highest priority groups for evacuation.
Therefore, even if they did not go out, imagine how many people still did not go out. https://t.co/RUcwJuxS80 pic.twitter.com/iGuXjmXpR6
-Eric Umansky (@ericuman) August 24, 2021
After they were turned away by the State Department, the Taliban found the Afghans outside the airport. They took their documents and told the visa holders that they would not be allowed to enter the country. Therefore, after the Afghans actually arrive at the airport, a decision made by the State Department may now destroy these 500 interpreters.
Their reasoning focusing on American passport holders is meaningless. They also need to drive the interpreters out. Why are you taking them away from the airport? In addition, they did not actually let many Americans leave, although, yes, they should. When they said that thousands of people were sent out every day, they only sent out about 4,500 people in total, most of whom were not Americans. So why they rejected the translation team seems to be inexplicable.
As Zeller said, when you have such a plane taking off, how do you refuse to translate? This makes no sense.
Images like this… Never let anyone say that this evacuation was successful. Every empty seat is the passing of a life, the abandonment of a person, and the shattering of a promise. #AfghanEvac #DigitalDunkirk https://t.co/3QI2I8AG72
— Matt Zeller (@mattczeller) August 25, 2021
The flight was a charter flight, trying to transport 1,000 Afghans to Uganda. Not only the Taliban, but the United States has also brought them trouble, which is why most of the planes are empty.
A chartered plane almost empty was evacuated from Kabul.1 of 3 planes organized by George and Maria @阿比西 Transported 1,000 Afghans to Uganda. Many people were blocked by the United States and the Taliban, so the first 345-seat plane had only 50 passengers. https://t.co/4IrUmxjFDP pic.twitter.com/DfUANnt9Pk
— Alexander Marquardt (@MarquardtA) August 25, 2021
“This is a combination of tragic, surreal and apocalyptic,” said Stacia George, director of the Carter Center’s conflict resolution program, who has been working around the clock to help people escape Kabul. “It’s frustrating to let high-risk people go to the door and let them risk their lives to go there, but you still can’t let them pass. It’s a disaster whether it’s slow motion or fast motion.”
Last week, Sayara International, a development company based in Washington and long-term working in Afghanistan, formulated a plan to send 1,000 Afghan refugees to Uganda, where the Ugandan government has provided asylum. One of the company’s co-founders, George Abi-Habib, said that Sayara had packaged three aircraft for this operation. Then it encountered a series of obstacles. The Marine Corps at the airport’s gate refused to allow Afghans who had seats on the plane to enter. Mr. Abi-Habib said that on one occasion, Sayara began charging some passengers for seats to fill the cash gap that needed to be filled before they could fly out of the country. He added that a Ugandan woman had to climb through a sewer pipe to enter the airport.
…
The same thing happened on a chartered flight to Ukraine on Sunday. Activists took 40 vulnerable Afghan women to the chaotic airport gate, where they carried balloons with the words “Ukraine” in order to easily identify them. But Ms. George said that American soldiers would not let them pass. The flight that had been waiting for two days to try to board these women took off without them. Ms. George said that in total, 70 of the 240 seats are empty.
