As the situation in Afghanistan spiraled out of control, tens of thousands of civilians dashed to the airport in hopes of a better future out of the country. While some boarded the flight, others scurried onto the tarmac of the Kabul airport.
The events that unfolded at the Kabul airport were painstaking and tear-jerking to say the least. With unmounted tension lingering in the air, people ran for their lives and cried for help. Others just remained idle due to sheer hopelessness.
The latter were in minority, while the majority consisted of people making a dash for the sacred plane. Video clips that emerged from the site of the tarmac accurately captured the misery of the poor Afghans, who clung to the U.S military plane with all their might; almost as if their life belonged to it.
Swift and steady in taking over the country, the Taliban army took the civilians as well as the Biden administration by surprise. With President Ashraf Ghani fleeing the state, the trained forces collapsed in face of the insurgents who captured the land with unmatchable speeds.
Almost instantaneously, the takeover became a social media frenzy as videos circulated above and beyond the realm of internet. One such video showed more than hundred Afghans running across the tarmac of Kabul airport, not paying heed to the warning shots being fired by the U.S troops.
Another video captured the real plight of Afghans as they struggled to make their way up a staircase to the plane. Additionally, a clip that warranted comments from many showed hundreds of people running along with the U.S Air Force plane as it followed it path on the runway.
Some Afghans even jumped and clung to the outside of the jet as it prepared for takeoff. According to Shahi Afridi, a 24-year-old woman who had a ticket to Uzbekistan on Sunday said she couldn’t board her plane as a number of people had unethically entered the plane, with no security insight.
Since there was no space to stand, a desolate Afridi returned home with the fear of the Taliban rule. Though people say the Taliban have “changed,” their actions and talks seem to tell a story of another kind. It seems to be a real tragedy for the Afghans and especially for the women, whose lives are endangered.
