An Afghan man living in Malta has been pleading with Maltese officials to help get his brother out of the country as the deadline for US-led evacuations looms closer.
Nearly 90,000 Afghans and foreigners have fled Afghanistan via the US-led airlift since the hard-line Islamist Taliban movement took control of the country on August 15. The evacuees include US citizens and at-risk Afghans.
Sabir, whose real name is not being used to protect his identity, said his brother was a top-ranking officer in the Afghan army who appeared often on state news talking about the army’s advance against the Taliban. He has not been able to get through the crowds surrounding Kabul airport.
The only solution now, Sabir explained, is for Maltese officials to intervene by providing his brother with official documents. This would prioritise him and help him get on a flight before Tuesday’s cut-off date.
Sabir has reached out to the Foreign Affairs Minister, the President and other officials and said that, though he received an acknowledgement, ‘time was running out fast’.
As he sits for an interview in his store, Sabir steers away from the topic of the retribution his brother might face if caught by the extremist group.
“When I spoke to my brother last, the fear that he has for his family and himself makes him look and sound like another person. I lived under the Taliban when I was younger and the best way to describe it is a horror movie,” he says.
I lived under the Taliban when I was younger and the best way to describe it is a horror movie
Heartbreaking scenes of people trying to flee the country have been playing out on television screens.
While the Taliban has vowed to provide amnesty to its opponents and to be more moderate, Sabir remarked that “what they say and what they do” are different stories. The extremist group has very little control over how its fighters act on the ground, he said.
“My brother knows they have searched his house and people back home tell me they have started searching the houses of others. Taliban fighters are walking the streets with guns and, right now, there’s chaos. There’s no way to control them despite what they say.
The US and its allies yesterday sounded warnings to their citizens to stay away or evacuate the area around the airport over a high risk of a terrorist attack.
As thousands continued to push ahead in the hope of getting out, explosions rocked the airport and casualties were reported.
Sabir’s brother was among those the previous day who was trying to get to the airport and was faced with unimaginable chaos and traffic for kilometres.
He spent the night sleeping outside with his wife and four children and, after 24 hours of trying and failing to get through the crowds, he returned home.