One Afghan family's harrowing account of getting to Kabul's airport.
The United States is planning to launch one flight per hour to hopefully evacuate up to 9,000 people each day, as the Taliban assumes control of the country.It was on the third attempt that"Khan," his pregnant wife and their 3-year old son made to get to Kabul’s international airport -- the most harrowing yet -- when they were finally successful.
After waiting 10 years for a visa, Mohammad finally learned last December that he was granted approval. Less than a month later, he was gunned down on his way to work, his 10-year old son by his side in the car. But that is only half the battle. For U.S. citizens and Afghans with visas, reaching the airport and getting inside has been a nearly impossible task.Afghan nationals cross the border into Pakistan at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing in Chaman, Aug. 18, 2021.
On Wednesday, they tried a different approach, nearing a gate on the north side. But there, they encountered U.S. troops trying to disperse crowds by shooting into the air and using tear gas, according to Khan's U.S. lawyer Julie Kornfeld from the International Refugee Assistance Project, or IRAP, who was FaceTiming with him during the episode.
"The timing could not be more urgent. Now that the Afghan government has collapsed and the Talban have taken over, time is quickly running out. We need to get as many people on flights out of the country before it is too late, and the U.S. has a legal and a moral obligation to do so," said Becca Heller, IRAP's executive director.
"It's a dynamic situation. Things are rapidly changing on the ground, and one client's success story of where the access points are is not going to hold up," Kornfeld added.Taliban fighters patrol in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 18, 2021.
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