The Limited Times

Afghanistan: Despair at the airport in Kabul

8/21/2021, 3:27:29 PM


Thousands of people rush to Kabul Airport out of fear of the Taliban. Parents separate from their children - and place them in the care of foreign soldiers.

Read the video transcript here

The pictures went around the world: an infant is passed over a wall with barbed wire at Kabul airport.

U.S. soldiers grab the baby's arm and lift it to the safe area.

According to the Pentagon, a parent asked soldiers to look after their child because they were sick.

It wasn't the only incident of its kind in the past few days.

Turkish soldiers took care of the two-month-old Hadiya for a day.

She and her father were separated from their mother in a mass panic in front of the airport.

The Turkish emergency services helped the father and daughter into the safe zone and provided the baby with diapers and food.

The attempts by Afghan parents to bring their children to safety exemplify the desperation that reigns at Kabul airport: on the one hand the threat from the Taliban, on the other hand the chaotic conditions at the airport gates.

Heat, hardly any water or food, and shots were fired regularly.

Girls and boys can be seen again and again in the angry crowds.

According to the Italian non-governmental organization Emergency, around 10,000 Afghans are currently trying to leave the country.

Original sound:

“I read in the newspaper and heard on TV that some countries give Afghans asylum.

That's why I came to the airport so that I could go abroad as quickly as possible.

There is no law or order here and business is bad in Afghanistan, so I want to go abroad as soon as possible. «

Those wishing to leave the country also come to Kabul from other cities to flee the Taliban - in some cases without exit documents.

Your prospects are bad.

Despite all the dangers, you are waiting at the gates of the airport.

Original sound:

“I came to Kabul Airport from Ghazni to go abroad.

I don't have any papers, but I want to go abroad because the situation is not good here.

The Taliban are standing in front of the airport gates and will not let anyone in. "

The security situation at Kabul Airport remains tense.

The Foreign Office in Berlin tweeted on Saturday that access to the airport is often not possible due to the dangerous situation.

The gates are even closed at times.

Nevertheless, the evacuations by the Bundeswehr should continue over the weekend.

Since the Taliban came to power almost a week ago, the German forces have flown over 2,000 people from Kabul.

As long as the evacuation continues, soldiers will not only secure the airport, but will also look after families and children on site.

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