Af21-Stories

Against the Wall – An Afghan Evacuation Story, Part 2

Against the Wall – An Afghan Evacuation Story, Part 2

It was August 19th 2021, three days after Afghanistan fell to the Taliban. I received a startling email from Rahmat, one of our editors:

Dear Michael,

Hope you are doing well. Now I got to Poland. Warsaw airport. This is the contact number of a polish woman who was responsible to assemble us to travel to Poland. Hope you and Basir can find a solution to evacuate all members here.

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Against the Wall – An Afghan Evacuation Story – Part 1

Against the Wall – An Afghan Evacuation Story – Part 1

The day Kabul fell to the Taliban, August 15, 2021, Basir and his family made their first attempt to get into the airport and onto a plane. It would be nearly a month before they escaped into Pakistan. Over the next weeks they would be beaten at Taliban checkpoints, endure crushing crowds and be threatened and sworn at by soldiers from around the world.

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1st anniversary of Afghan crisis

1st anniversary of Afghan crisis

Night after night (daytime in Afghanistan) I used real-time on-the-ground intelligence information provided by vets and other organizations also working to evacuate people, to try and help guide families around the violent Taliban checkpoints, through the crushing crowds to the 20’ high walls of cement and barbed wire.

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The black future of Afghanistan

The black future of Afghanistan

From a colleague in Afghanistan: Kabul city is currently surrounded by those wild creatures in this black forest. Those predators have become more savage and unrestrained than before.

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