"The Largest Airlift Ever" by Ben R.

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The recent Taliban takeover of Afghanistan as US and UN forces withdrew has led to a refugee crisis as thousands of Afghan refugees desperately tried to flee the country to escape Taliban retribution for assisting UN forces during their stay in the country. According to CNN over 100,000 refugees have been airlifted out in a situation similar to Operation Frequent Wind or the evacuation of Saigon after the Vietnam war as people desperately mob evacuation sites and hang on to aircraft as they take off, this airlift to get Afghans out is the largest  non combatant airlift ever. 25,000 Afghans are waiting in Ramstein, Germany and many were interviewed about what had happened as they went to the flights and what they thought about going to the United States, among those is a woman named Jamila who said that as she was entering the airport the Taliban ripped up their documents and shot bullets over their heads, as well as arresting her husband and brother-in-law.

Some are worried that letting so many Afghan refugees into the country is dangerous because of past terrorrism and a general distrust of foreigners, this is not a very realistic situation though because not only are these refugees leaving the country because they assisted the US soldiers but they are also given thorough background checks and are extensively checked for any hostility. This process of background checks is a part of the SIV program that is a program made specifically for refugees that once completed grants them a visa and the ability to bring their families along with them to the United States. 40,000 refugees are in assorted NATO bases going through this process to be then brought to the United States or any of the other countries that will be taking in refugees. 20,000 refugees are already in the states at military bases in Virginia, Wisconsin, New Mexico, New Jersey, and Indiana. Most refugees could not bring much with them as they left in a rush to escape the country.

The airlift has ended as of the 31st of August and now the long process to bring these refugees into willing countries is just beginning. These people helped us as we initially liberated the country from the Taliban and now it's time that we help them. We need to accept them into our country and make sure they have safe places to stay and good schools for their children.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58283177

https://www.wvtm13.com/article/what-legal-status-do-afghans-have-as-they-evacuate-to-the-us-it-varies/37451471#

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/airlift-begins-afghans-who-worked-us-during-long-military-campaign-2021-07-30/

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/afghanistan-evacuees-us-housing-17000-in-5-states-40000-overseas/#

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/air-force-c-17-pilot-afghanistan/


Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 8, 2021 at 7:24 AM

    Is it really the biggest airlift ever? Bigger than the Berlin airlift? It might be the biggest human airlift, but in size of cargo I think the Berlin airlift was larger. I agree that we need to help these people, we can just abandon them after we took them from their homeland.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownSeptember 9, 2021 at 9:25 PM

    The situation in Afghanistan is terrible. I will never be able to understand how you can do those things to your own people and still have a clear conscious. I wish their was a way to stop all this madness.
    - Isaac

    ReplyDelete
  3. Carter CraneSeptember 10, 2021 at 9:07 AM

    I hope that our country will be open to helping the Afghan refugees. The situation in Afghanistan is heartbreaking and I wish their was a way for us to ensure that more people could escape safely.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 13, 2021 at 9:06 AM

    It is sad all that is happening over there and the problems it has caused. Hopefully everything will get sorted out quick and won't get worse.
    - Wyatt

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownSeptember 13, 2021 at 9:29 AM

    Everything that is happening in Afghanistan is heartbreaking. I wish we could figure out a way to get more people out safely and not risk lives of innocent people.
    -Sierra

    ReplyDelete
  6. GillianSeptember 13, 2021 at 11:26 AM

    I also think that our country should be accepting and open to refugees from Afghanistan. I think that as we see an increase of Afghanistan refugees, we’ll also see an increase of islamophobia and xenophobia. Regardless of any rising anti-Islamic sentiments, I hope that people will be open to accepting refugees.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousSeptember 14, 2021 at 5:57 PM

    It is extremely sad what happened in Afghanistan. I wish the whole thing could have gone smoother. I wonder i there was a better way to have gonna about extracting out troops. Was there a way that we could have brought all of our troops home and not just some? I think that it is important to help people in times of need and provide refuge for those that need it but I also think we should protect our own. I wish we had found way to bring both our soldiers back and the refugees that needed help. ~ Annie

    ReplyDelete

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