JMohammad Bashir (Mohammad Bashir) reads every day that more vulnerable groups have been airlifted from Afghanistan to Germany. The feeling of being abandoned by Germany grew in his heart every day. “2134 people have flown out of Germany, and I didn’t even receive a call,” the man said on the phone on Sunday. “Why don’t you prioritize the people who are most at risk? Why do the Bundeswehr cleaners fly out before me?”
Bashir, whose real name is different, not only holds a high position in the German state organization. He also often appeared in place of his German boss, because for security reasons, he was hardly allowed to travel to northern Afghanistan for many years. “I represent Germany openly,” Bashir said. He gave a speech on behalf of his boss, which he made himself.
For example, in a video conference with tribal elders from Taliban-controlled areas, Bashir talked about women’s rights and the rule of law, and called on tribal elders to implement these two regulations in their Taliban areas. In fact, he did not say this, but his boss said. It was not possible to come for safety reasons, and it is estimated that many listeners have overlooked it. When Germany’s multi-million dollar project was launched in the north of the country, Bashir was interviewed by Afghan media. He met with the governor to discuss the new project. There are countless photos showing Bashir with a senior representative of the overthrown government.
“Did they forget me?”
He applied to leave the country on August 8, but he is still there. More than a week ago, Bashir received a guarantee that he would be included in the high-priority list. But nothing happened since. He has exploratory questions in his mind. “What is that list? Why hasn’t my time come yet? Have they forgotten me?” You can see tension and despair on the phone. The voices of his wife and eight-month-old son can be heard in the background.Every minute of the day, Bashir was waiting for the redemption call at the airport, or waiting Taliban Hammer on his door. In this case, he is ready to immediately plug the mobile phone with all sensitive data into the water pipe. He has destroyed and repaired the laptop.
Bashir’s case begs the question: What criteria are used to determine who will fly out first? For understandable reasons, the Federal Government Crisis Team that made such a decision did not provide any information. But even in many organizations that send lists to the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, difficult decisions must now be made about the fate of employees and project partners. “It’s like a classification,” said the head of an organization. “We are like lay judges. We have no training, but we have responsibilities.” This also involves “tactical considerations.” Do you put all employees, including drivers and accountants, on the list? Then, those who are most at risk will have less chance of being rescued. In addition, there is competition between organizations, the director said.The translator is Armed forces More dangerous than the employees of the rebuilding loan company? Is the qualification of private aid organizations lower than that of state aid organizations?
Approximately one thousand requests for help every day
According to its own statement, the Berlin Airlift Afghanistan Initiative currently receives approximately one thousand requests for help every day, mainly from human rights activists and cultural workers, as well as senior representatives from the overthrown Afghan government. Twenty students pre-classified their applications on a voluntary basis. Co-sponsor Tilmann Röder made recommendations to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to determine who should have the highest priority and who are eligible to participate in the special task force. Law scholars at the Free University of Berlin have worked in Afghanistan for many years. He said that priority should be given to those who “may face fatal danger if discovered.” This applies to the symbolic figures of the former country, such as ministers and senior employees of the justice, security forces, and secret service, who were particularly exposed in the fight against the Taliban.
Rhodes said that those who have made particularly obvious contributions to women and human rights or who have publicly criticized the atrocities of the Taliban are also threatened. A person who is openly gay and expresses his criticism of Islam is also on the priority list. Röder said judges and prosecutors are also particularly at risk because the Taliban have released thousands of prisoners who can now seek revenge. In order to increase the chance of being rescued, he forwarded some applications directly to the US State Department, where one of his former colleagues worked.
On Monday, Rhodes spread the moral and psychological burden of this “classification” to several shoulders. This task is now taken over by a committee of three Afghan experts. At the same time, the time window for the affected is closing. If the US government does not decide to postpone, the rescue flight will end in more than a week.
