“Only unmarried daughters”: German organization tears local staff families apart

The federal government promised quick help with the evacuation of local workers from Afghanistan.

But GIZ refuses to rescue certain family members.

Kabul - After the Taliban came to power, the German government promised to evacuate local workers from Afghanistan quickly and unbureaucratically.

But as a media report shows, the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) does not want to save all family members of its employees.

Adult sons should remain in a dangerous situation in Afghanistan - only “unmarried daughters” are allowed to come to Germany.

Many local workers and their families are still stuck in Kabul, waiting to be rescued.

The federal government promised to help all of these people and their families.

But this promise now seems to be crumbling, according to a report in the

.

Local force in Kabul stunned: “I should leave my sons to the Taliban.

This is madness "

In a letter to several local staff, GIZ explains: “The so-called 'core family', which means a partner (husband / wife) and children under the age of 18, can go with you.

In addition, unmarried daughters over the age of 18 are also counted in the core family. ”Due to the current situation, there are no exceptions.

Furthermore, only employees with a valid GIZ employment contract for the past two years are allowed to leave the country.

Adib, a long-time GIZ employee who is currently stuck in Kabul, is stunned: “I should leave my sons to the Taliban.

This is insane, ”he says.

The Taliban are currently being moderate, "but they are liars," the man told

.

“If they find us, then they will kill us”.

Adib hoped that GIZ would save his wife and sons.

Instead, he was also told that he would get a place on an evacuation plane himself, but that his adult sons would not.

Like many others, he is given a choice: either Adib leaves his children behind or he stays in Afghanistan.

According to their own statements, the local staff are also said to have been pressured by GIZ not to speak to the media about their situation.

Evacuation of local workers: Only the “nuclear family” is rescued from Afghanistan

In response to a request from

, GIZ confirmed the notification, referring to a set of rules that had been laid down by the German government. This also applies to other institutions, for example the Bundeswehr. The local staff were told "which family members can be taken along as a nuclear family as part of the local staff procedure". As Development Minister Gerd Müller (CSU) explained, these are "particularly vulnerable people".

With the current regulation of the “core family”, cases of hardship should be avoided.

“In the current difficult situation in Afghanistan, humanity and a sense of proportion must now apply locally.

Nobody should be left behind who could be taken, ”said CSU politician Müller.

Apparently this does not include the sons of the local staff.

Green politician Cem Özdemir criticized the behavior of the federal government as “unacceptable”: “Anyone who separates families acts inhumanely in such a situation,” quotes

.

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