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Soldiers are deployed at Kabul Airport.
Thousands of people wait around Kabul airport in August in the hope of an evacuation flight abroad.
Photo: Stfw Schueller / dpa
Hamid has changed significantly in the last few months.
His beard has grown.
Some gray and white spots can be seen.
"My husband has aged in the last few weeks," says Hamid's wife, Sediqa *, sadly.
Hamid, who SPIEGEL reached by video call, is in his late 30s and until recently worked for a large telecommunications company in Kabul.
But now, he says, he is hiding and hardly dares to go out into the street.
The reason: For the past ten years, Hamid has also taken care of the data lines for the Bundeswehr and other NATO troops.
His work was fundamental for the western mission on site.
It has now been more than 100 days since the Bundeswehr finished its evacuation operation in Kabul.
Hamid was not one of those who were flown out.
One of his work colleagues was killed in Kabul last year
Without Hamid, the German soldiers in Kabul would have had a harder time communicating with their colleagues in Mazar-i-Sharif.
The 20-year war effort created a gigantic industry that was not only dependent on interpreters, but also on technicians like Hamid and all sorts of other professional groups such as drivers and air traffic controllers.
But while the former foreign employers of these local workers often showed little interest in them, the old new rulers were sometimes downright hunting them down - the Taliban, who brought Afghanistan back under their control in mid-August.
“I haven't been able to go to my village in the south-east of the country for years.
The Taliban have been present there for a long time and know about my former work, ”says Hamid.
One of his work colleagues was killed in Kabul last year.
Hamid blames the Taliban for his murder - and fears that the same fate may soon overtake him.
The Foreign Office informed him that it couldn't care
Since the Taliban returned to Kabul, Hamid has been receiving threatening phone calls from an anonymous number.
“I have no idea who it is or where he got my number from, but I'm scared.
Because he knows very well about me, «says the Afghan.
He already suspected months ago that he would get into this threatening situation, says Hamid.
But as early as June, the Foreign Office told him that he could not take care of his concerns.
The reason: He worked for an external company, which in turn worked for the NATO troops.
There is no direct contract between the Bundeswehr and Hamid.
"It's a shame that they are now abandoning him"
"I worked with the NATO forces and the Bundeswehr every day, but now they pretend they don't know me," the ex-technician explains.
Hamid's relatives who live in Germany are outraged by the government's bureaucracy.
“The soldiers worked with Hamid on a regular basis.
They turned almost exclusively to him and sometimes drove him across the country.
It is a shame that they are now being abandoned, «says Naqib ur-Rahman, a brother-in-law of Hamid.
When international troops withdrew from Afghanistan last August and the militant Islamist Taliban regained power, tens of thousands poured into Kabul airport.
They all wanted to be evacuated.
Hamid was one of them, but his attempts were unsuccessful.
At the airport, Hamid says, he tried to pass the checkpoints of Taliban fighters and US soldiers while he feared for his life.
“It was messy and dangerous.
They not only shot in the air, but also in the crowds, ”he recalls.
Shortly before the devastating IS attack at Kabul airport, which killed at least 170 Afghans and 13 US soldiers, Hamid went home to hide from the Taliban.
“This bloodbath alone traumatized me again.
Since then I have slept badly and am afraid for my children. "
more on the subject
Solidarity with borders: Gießen would like to take in more refugees, but is not allowed by Katrin Elger
Escape the Taliban terror: How a local worker from Afghanistan wrestles with the German bureaucracyBy Jonas Schulze Pals
Controversial protection list for refugees from Afghanistan: The German rescue lottery by Jürgen Dahlkamp, Matthias Gebauer and Roman Lehberger
Although the Taliban have promised a general amnesty for members of the Afghan army and police or government employees since they came to power, the words of the extremists can hardly be believed.
“I cannot rely on such promises.
What will you do when the international focus is gone?
And who is threatening me these days if it's not the Taliban? ”Asks Hamid.
Human Rights Watch: Lists of People
A new report by the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) makes it clear that he and other victims were right with their concerns.
Since the return of the Taliban, more than a hundred members of the former security forces have been killed or disappeared.
HRW writes of bloody reprisals and reports of systematic crimes.
In some cases, local Taliban commanders have compiled lists of people who were supposed to be apprehended or even killed, as has been suggested.
In the report, which focused on the provinces of Helmand, Ghazni, Kandahar and Kunduz, witnesses and family members of the victims have their say.
Among other things, there is talk of a "broad pattern of abuses".
Renegade Taliban fighters are responsible for the crimes, according to the Taliban government
Meanwhile, the Taliban government continues to insist on the general amnesty it has announced.
"There are no such lists," said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid repeatedly over the past few weeks and months.
Instead, renegade Taliban fighters, so-called rogue elements, are held responsible for the crimes.
“This is an excuse that doesn't seem credible.
There is no amnesty.
The attacks and abuses take place systematically, «says Irish Afghanistan expert Michael Semple.
“Hopefully we will be believed now.
I hope that the German authorities will finally meet their responsibilities and that I will be able to leave with my family, ”says Hamid.
* Name changed for security reasons
