- The Afghans are frantically trying to flee the country.
- Those without transportation are eager to escape from Taliban rule.
- Some people were crushed to death when they left in a hurry.
On Sunday, Afghans in a bus convoy escorted by the Taliban to Kabul Airport described their heartbreak as they drove past a huge crowd desperate to join them.
Tens of thousands of people gathered around the airport north of the capital, hoping to leave the country by plane, because the evacuation of the U.S. military continued in chaos.
View | As the deadline approaches, the Taliban issued new warnings about the postponement of air freight
People are crushed to death in the melee, and the image of a family handing a child from the wall to a soldier — and the image of a young man holding on tightly as a military plane rolls off the runway for takeoff — shocking the world.
A reporter from the convoy leaving the downtown hotel earlier on Sunday told AFP that a large group of people camped at a crossroad near the airport-many people slept in the open air.
Families hoping for a miracle escape are squeezed between the barbed-wire border of the unofficial no-man’s land that separates the Taliban fighters from the U.S. military and the remnants of the Afghan special forces that helped them.
“As soon as they saw our convoy, they got up and ran towards the bus,” he said.
“They are showing us their passports or other documents…A man came to my window with his wife and children, waved his passport and said,’I have a British visa but cannot enter. Please let me We get in the car.'”
New life abroad
There are reports that the Taliban intercepted, harassed and even detained Afghans who tried to escape, but reporters said that there were basically no accidents in his motorcade.
“They don’t care about us,” he said.
After Washington decided to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan, the United States and other countries plan to provide asylum to tens of thousands of Afghans this year.
Those who gained new life opportunities abroad mostly included Afghans who worked for foreign troops during the 20-year occupation after the Taliban were expelled after the September 11 attacks.
But these plans were thrown into chaos by the Taliban’s devastating defeat of the Afghan army and their return to power last weekend.
“Everyone has a reason to leave,” the team’s reporter told AFP.
“Some are journalists, some are female college students…and those who work with foreigners.”
Before the convoy set off, a girl burst into tears at the hotel.
“The day the Taliban arrived, I knew that my life in Afghanistan was over,” she said.
“Living under their rule means burying all my life ambitions.”
The people in the convoy are now waiting for their turn to be evacuated to the West-through a coronavirus isolation camp in Qatar.
“My children cried because they were exhausted, but I told them, wait for the plane to come, hold on a little more, and then we will be saved,” said Haji Hamid. His wife and four children were Towed away.
“If we stay, death and oppression will follow us,” he said.
“I keep telling them:’One day, you will thank me.'”
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