In this Aug. 21, 2021, photo provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, a U.S. Marine assigned to 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) provides over-watch during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo: Lance Cpl. Nicholas Guevara/U.S. Marine Corps via AP
“Soldiers, guards, made a circle around people and they are firing every single minute in front of children, women and all people. You can see wounded and injured people in every hour there. I hear some people lost their lives as well.”Even for those like Ilham who have made it to a coveted list of at-risk evacuees compiled by foreign governments, escape is still nearly impossible without life-threatening risks.“My name is on the list but the foreign soldiers are not out of the gate. Unfortunately it is completely irregular. Crowds are dangerous,” he said.Jalila, a 26-year-old woman who works for an international aid organisation, said she too is on the lists of several European countries. A letter issued by one of the embassies shown to VICE World News,confirmed Jalila’s sponsorship by their government, and asked “authorities to allow them and their families safe passage so that they can reach HKIA airport without delay.”“They are pushing each other to get close to the gate and enter the airport. You can see girls, women, children on the ground. They’re sleeping the whole night there. There are very horrible things I have seen there,” he added.
In a series of social media posts, a U.S. citizen waiting for their evacuation flight at the American camp inside the airport, shared photos and videos of the situation inside. The images showed hundreds of Afghans sitting on the ground under the blistering sun.“We are risking our lives to get to the airport. We will be lucky to get in. It’s a matter of life and death. We will [take] our chance to get in.”
In this Aug. 20, 2021, photo provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, a woman and children wait for transportation to the terminal at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. (1st Lt. Mark Andries/U.S. Marine Corps via AP)
Another Afghan photographer, who managed to board a flight for France, also slammed U.S. efforts. “I will never forget the mistreatment of American troops with those who have no other option but to flee the war to survive. Shame on you cruel humans,” she captioned a photo of American troops on Instagram. She did not elaborate.“Four days sleeping out in the cold. My daughter is currently freezing and crying and no one is helping and we’re constantly being told that we’re only here for security and to get you out,” she said. She also claimed that the food given to them by the troops included pork, which is prohibited in Islam.
A family evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, walk through the terminal to board a bus after they arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021. Photo: AP/Jose Luis Magana
Her despair is echoed by those who did manage to make it out. The photographer who successfully made it to France compared her ordeal to a “horror movie” – from looking for “any way to get to the military airport” to witnessing her “whole life destroyed in Kabul.” “I still can’t deal with it. I can’t believe everything I saw and feel. The fall of Kabul happened so quick and sad I can’t believe how I am still alive,” she wrote.Like Jalila, she mourned having to say goodbye to her haven in Kabul. “The last time I was in my balcony, in my little house in Kabul,” she captioned a nostalgic Instagram story of her home, with friends. “I can’t believe it. I left my everything behind and just locked the door to run away.” “I left Afghanistan, my beloved motherland with a little suitcase,” she wrote.In her last message to VICE World News before heading to the airport on Sunday, Jalila was hopeful. “Let’s hope for the best. I will struggle. I will do my best,” she wrote. There was no update from her as of publication time on Monday.Inside a military plane on Sunday afternoon, Ilham sent his final message from Afghanistan. He was heading to Dubai as his first stop, where he and his family would transfer planes that would take them to their new home in Europe.As it sunk in that she could potentially be leaving the country she has called home since birth, Jalila had tears in her eyes. “Yesterday I cried, you know why? I left everything behind. From my beautiful house, I take only a backpack with clothes. I had thousands of hopes to stay here, work and serve. But it all collapsed.”
As the plane started to move, he sent a final photo. In the blurry selfie, he held one daughter in his arms, while his young son held his little sister. His wife cradled their sleeping one-year-old against her chest. Ilham and his wife, faces weary, and their four children, with big smiles on their faces.Asked how he was feeling, Ilham texted back: “Happiness and sorrow, I'm carrying both. Leaving my birth place, Mom, my relatives. My beloved books, friends, it’s all a heavy sorrow in my heart. On the happiness side, that I could rescue my life and my family members, I wish a bright future for my kids.”