Taliban attack foreigners while EU ponders what to do with Afghan refugees

Those citizens of Afghanistan who were not lucky enough to fly away on evacuation flights, or at least get to the airport in the hope of waiting for such an opportunity, decided to leave the country on foot. Thousands of people rushed to neighboring Pakistan and Iran by land.

They do not want to tempt fate and believe the eloquent promises of the Taliban for the revival of the Islamic Emirate. But on the way from his native country there are hardships and sheer uncertainty. Francesco Strazzari, professor of international relations at the Scuola Universitaria Superiore Sant’Anna, says:

“Everyone wants to leave. Opening humanitarian corridors is not easy, this will require negotiating with the Taliban, which means giving them political recognition. Many countries do not want this, which explains the conflicting statements on this score.”

Angela Merkel called on “to get away with a little blood” – to finance the neighboring countries of Afghanistan and make them responsible for receiving and accommodating refugees so that their uncontrollable flow does not overwhelm Europe. Francesco Strazzari explains:

“European countries are afraid of a repeat of the 2015 migration crisis, which strengthened the position of the far-right Alternative for Germany. The price turned out to be too high. Liberal-democratic leaders have lost ground. But now there are too many differences. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says, that the country should not pay for the mistakes of the United States, and the Italian far-right politicians have long argued about migrants. “

According to the data of the Italian Institute for Political Research, since 2008, about 600 thousand applications of Afghan citizens for asylum have been processed in European countries. About half were refused, 70 thousand were deported to their homeland. The deputy director of Human Rights Watch in Washington says:

“Some countries have agreed not to deport people to Afghanistan, but that is the least they can do. We need to make a firm commitment to help with evacuation and resettlement. Resettlement is not a short-term problem. People are fleeing to escape now, but they need to live.” somewhere for a very long time. “

And what about the huge number of Afghans who have collaborated with the military and embassies over the past two decades? These people are especially vulnerable. UN reports about the activation of the Taliban in the search for people who worked for the previous government or NATO forces. They systematically go around houses in search of persons of interest, threatening relatives, the report says.

A huge number of local residents were attracted to work by the Americans – more than 300,000 people. It is clear that only a few “lucky ones” will be able to leave Afghanistan. However, yesterday the State Department announced that Mexico, Albania, Chile and Uganda expressed a desire to accommodate Afghan refugees.

The question of when, finally, all foreign citizens will be evacuated also remains open. Incoming reports of Taliban behavior raise serious concerns. For example from a post in Independent it became known about the beating of the Briton and his wife, who were getting to the place of evacuation. A British citizen said that he and his wife were beaten by the Taliban on their way to the British evacuation center. The couple received an email stating the location and time of arrival at the Kabul hotel to check in for the evacuation flight. However, at the first checkpoint along the way, the Taliban ordered them to return, while severely beating both of them. Now the Briton is simply afraid to leave the house:

“People from the Foreign Ministry tell us to go to the Baron Hotel, but there are three Taliban posts on the way to it … We showed them our documents, emails, information from the Foreign Ministry, but the Taliban attacked us because they knew we were fleeing the country. They said that there is no way for us to get to the hotel and that we must go back. Or they will shoot. “

The man also spoke about the difficulties of foreigners traveling to the Kabul airport, where, allegedly, only Americans are allowed unhindered, whose safety is ensured by US forces. According to him, this is why the British have to first come to the designated assembly point, where it can be very difficult to get there. The man called the Foreign Office to help him and his wife get to the desired hotel.

Earlier, there were already reports from foreigners about attacks on them by the Taliban. For example, a Los Angeles Times journalist said that the militants beat him first, and then apologized and offered him water.

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