A former British Council teacher has told how he and his wife escaped the Kabul airport suicide attack by seconds after being plucked from the desperate crowd by vigilant UK troops.
Kabir told Metro.co.uk that the hard-pressed soldiers came out of the evacuation point to a filthy river where thousands of of people had gathered in the hope of making one of the remaining flights out of Afghanistan.
The personnel, who spotted the Afghan couple through a picture they held up, ventured around 15 metres from their post and took the former English teacher, his tearful wife and her younger colleague closer to the perimeter, where they began checking their documents.
Seconds later, the suicide bomber who has claimed at least 170 lives detonated a device in the crowd.
The 28-year-old said today that despite the troops saving his life he and around 50 other colleagues who had high-exposure roles teaching the British Embassy-run English for Afghans programme have not heard back from the UK’s relocation scheme.
He only qualified for one of the last civilian flights because his 26-year-old wife was eligible through her work with an international non-profit project. even though he has re-applied to the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ARAP) after being rejected due to what he says was an administrative error.
Kabir believes he was saved by a ‘miracle’ but despairs at the fate of his former colleagues still in Afghanistan, who he fears will be ‘slaughtered’ by the Taliban after the UK effectively ceased its evacuation effort.
Expressing his relief to Metro.co.uk from Rome today, the fluent English speaker said: ‘Words cannot express how I feel. It really seems like a miracle for both of us to leave the country.
‘Thousands of people were trying to reach a single soldier just to show their documents in order to get out of the country.
‘There were between 5,000 and 10,000 people. It was crazy.
‘But the soldiers saw us holding up the sign and came and took out us out of the river, they saved our lives.’
The former teacher trainer described how the huge crowd had been standing on both sides of the river and in the sewage-infested water in the moments before the explosion left a scene of horrific carnage on Thursday.
‘We had to walk into the dirty water; it was full of people and we were exhausted and as we reached the end my wife was crying because of the crowd and the situation,’ Kabir said.
‘It was like a marathon to get into the airport. Fortunately we had co-ordinated in advance to hold up a picture and when the soldiers saw it they came out to us and took us out of the river.
‘We were happy because we knew we could enter the gate. They knew we were in great danger in Kabul and wanted to take us in. As we were talking with the British soldiers, who were checking our passports and identities, there was a big explosion about 15 metres away from us.
‘There was gas and body parts and everyone was screaming and shouting.
‘The soldiers began firing, maybe into the air to make people disappear from the scene. They took us from the side of the river to a safer place behind the gate and told us to lie down.
‘We had been standing where the bomb went off only a few seconds before. Fortunately we were able to stay in Camp Baron for the night.
‘I could see some of the corpses, but only three to four of them, the others were too bad to locate.
‘It was amazing how the soldiers reacted, by the end of the night, which I think was around 10pm, they were checking documents again and again.’
The trio spent the night in Hotel Baron, which is attached to the airport, before landing in Italy at 3am today after stop-offs in Islamabad and Kuwait.
The former educator, who qualified for evacuation by the Italian military as a dependent of his wife, now wants to settle in the UK through his work for the British Council.
Originally from north-western Herat Province, he worked in Kabul as a ‘master trainer’ at the former Ministry of Education, teaching its employees English and the related skills to spread the language in their roles.
Speaking under an assumed name to protect his family still in his homeland, Kabir said he speaks no Italian and wants to study drama in the UK.
‘It’s not me alone, there are 50 to 55 other colleagues who are waiting in Kabul,’ he said.
‘I’m sorry to say they are in great danger because every day the Taliban is killing Afghans who worked for NATO and the foreign embassies and programmes.
‘I am sure if they are not relocated they will be slaughtered there in Kabul.’
Metro.co.uk has previously reported on the plight of the former British Council workers, who say they were among the most visible elements of the UK mission due to their work in schools and colleges.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said today that flights solely for evacuation purposes have ended, with diplomatic and military personnel due to be flown home from Hamid Karzai International Airport.
A Government spokesperson said: ‘It is with deep regret that not everyone has been able to be evacuated during this process. The UK Government and the Armed Forces have carried out an enormous operation to evacuate over 15,000 people in 14 days during Operation Pitting.
‘We will continue to honour our debt to all those who have not yet been able to leave Afghanistan. We will do all that we can to ensure they reach safety and apply for ARAP from third countries.’
The British Council said tonight: ‘We are aware of this individual and are in constant contact with colleagues at FCDO [Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office] to ensure his and all of our former and current colleagues’ ARAP applications are urgently prioritised.
‘The ARAP scheme is managed by the UK MoD and we are not involved in the application or decision-making processes.
‘Nevertheless, we have been working tirelessly to ensure that ARAP applications submitted by all former and current colleagues receive the fullest consideration possible.
‘For those who have applied but not heard back yet, or wishing to appeal a rejection, we urgently encourage them to contact ATREU (the Afghan Threat and Risk Evaluation Unit) by emailing localstaff-afghanistan@mod.gov.uk to provide further evidence now that the eligibility criteria has been widened by the UK government.
‘It has been devastating to see the situation unfolding in Afghanistan. We remain deeply concerned not only for our colleagues and those we have worked with over the last twenty years, but for all the people of Afghanistan.
‘The situation on the ground remains immensely challenging, but we are continuing to work closely with the UK government to do everything we can to support our colleagues to leave safely.’
Do you have a story you would like to share? Contact josh.layton@metro.co.uk
For more stories like this, check our news page.