News from Kabul Luftbrücke
Here you will find the latest news about the work of Kabul Luftbrücke and our efforts to create a federal reception programme. For security reasons, we cannot report on the evacuation measures until they have been completed.
Kabul Luftbrucke does NOT have any authority to grant admission of approval to anyone. If you hear or witness anyone making such statements, it is fake! Here is just one example of many:
In today's press release from the BMI and AA, the ministries announced the start of the humanitarian admission program for Afghanistan, which vulnerable individuals and their families have been waiting for for over a year. Access to the program will be limited by only being able to apply through selected NGOs, which will be overloaded with the task. Once again, it is civil society that is expected to bear the government's protracted assumption of responsibility. Kabul Luftbrücke criticizes severely limited access to the program.
Our first evacuation mission started a year ago. With the help of a chartered Airbus A320, we wanted to fly 170 threatened Afghans out on the night of 28-29 August 2021. Our plane took off with only 18 people. Our first evacuation had failed in large parts. But we kept going. Our first flight was not to be our last. On 13 November, our second charter flight took off and 148 people who had been persecuted by the Taliban were evacuated. Even though our name stands for evacuations by air, we evacuated most people by land, often by bus to Pakistan. And we are not stopping. Since our first flight in August 2021, we have helped 2713 people leave Afghanistan safely and legally.
Mohammad G was a prosecutor in Afghanistan, tackling gangsters and warlords. He had worked his way up as a member of the ostracised Hazara ethnic group, like all his siblings. An associate of the hated judiciary and a Hazara - this made him a doubly worthwhile target for the Taliban. When armed men slashed his mother's face after the Taliban victory, it was clear that the family would not only have to go underground. It was clear that they all had to leave the country and find a new, safe home. Without the Taliban. You can read about how the Kabul Airlift helped them at the Bosch Foundation.
On August 12th we want to invite you to spend the afternoon and evening with us at about blank! We would like to use this time together to network, get to know you and say thank you to our growing community of allies, supporters and evacuees.
"MISSION Kabul Luftbrücke" documents how former local forces manage to leave the country, how children hope to be reunited who were separated from their parents while fleeing, and how young women decide to no longer bow to the Taliban's rules.
"For many people, losing their home is unthinkable. However, it is a reality for many people. To make the reality of these people's lives more tangible, Alex Bühler spoke to the Taiman family for us."
"We must not forget the people who have stood up for a liberal Afghanistan every day. All those who do not conform to the Taliban's world view must fear for their lives. They must be saved, regardless of whether they have a direct connection to Germany or not!"
2-year-old Afat was our 1000th evacuee on 6 December 2021. She, her family and other Afghans were able to leave Kabul by land. We are very happy for the evacuees and continue to work without interruption to enable as many people in need of protection as possible to leave.
This morning we evacuated 148 people from Afghanistan on a donor-funded charter flight, including two of the Afghan air traffic controllers who had previously worked for the Bundeswehr.
