Afghans are being evacuated using WhatsApp, Google Forms or any other means possible

The sudden fall of the Afghan government has led to a tremendous attempt to speed up online aid and evacuation efforts. These attempts, largely organized through private groups on Google Forms, WhatsApp, and social media, are trying to fill a gap that the U.S. government has failed to protect vulnerable Afghans. These efforts could be the only salvation for many trying to flee the country – but at the same time they are not without danger, as observers fear the Taliban may use people-supplied information to identify people in need of rescue.

The war in Afghanistan took 20 years and killed at least 174,000 lives, but Kabul fell over the weekend. As the Taliban closed in, former President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Saturday, August 14th. On Sunday, the Taliban entered the palace of the Afghan president.

But Kabul residents waited in fear to see what it would mean for them, or tried to escape the chaotic scenes at the city’s airport — the only evacuation point in Afghanistan — by volunteering to help as many people as possible.

Avoiding bureaucracy

The Afghans and their allies had been planning for weeks, but the last major cities remained in the hands of the Taliban for a week, often without resistance, as these efforts took on a new need. Informal networks of people in the country and abroad were taking place (including journalists, nonprofits, universities, and sometimes government officials working outside official policy), organizing lists of Afghans eligible for various relocation programs, or even slow bureaucratic processes. absolutely.

Several groups planned to rent aircraft for private jets. Some planned to provide people with information on the state of the roads, and help Afghans detained in the provinces make their way to Kabul. Others have focused on more specific groups such as journalists, women and Afghans who have worked on specific projects.

“If you have someone who can go to the airport at the end of the week in Kabul, write down the information to share with the air evac company and the State Department,” he says at the top of a Google Form created by a national coalition. they expect security-related organizations evacuate Afghans with passports.