I was one of the lucky interpreters – but the west is leaving many Afghans like me to die

Leaving thousands of people in Afghanistan at the mercy of the Taliban, or at direct risk from terrorist groups, is immoral

Afghans flee the Taliban at Kabul Airport (AP)

I was evacuated from Kabul on one of the last flights before Thursday’s devastating terrorist attack by Isis-K. Now, flights out of Hamid Karzai International are grounded. If planes do not begin flying again soon, the tragic loss of life from the blast will only be a taste of things to come in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

Every day until departure, I stood waiting in the blazing desert heat at the capital’s airport with my three young children and wife, desperate to board an evacuation flight. One day while waiting amongst the thousands crowded there, my four-year-old fainted from heat exhaustion. Still, we went back and kept trying at the airport gates.

Having worked with coalition forces as an interpreter since 2003, I qualified for evacuation, as do hundreds of other Afghans in a similar position. But the west’s rapid retreat from Kabul has left many in limbo, unable to secure tickets out. More time is needed to evacuate, to honour the promise our employers made when we readily signed up to serve the coalition at huge personal risk.

Leaving thousands of people in Afghanistan at the mercy of the Taliban, or at direct risk from terrorist groups, is immoral. Images of the chaos at Kabul airport splashed across the front pages should demonstrate this. The New York Centre for Foreign Policy Affairs has called the 31 August evacuation deadline, set during negotiations over a year ago with President Trump’s administration, “irrelevant to the current situation on the ground”.

The process for securing a visa is lengthy. I only managed to secure my second-round visa interview for September. Then Kabul fell and the US embassy closed, and this last lifeline of hope for a safe future was severed for so many. Because I am one of the lucky ones, I will be able to go through the visa process safely.

It is hard to see America’s decision to stick to the 31 August deadline as anything other than a betrayal of the men and women who have worked hand in hand with coalition forces for decades. The idea that “saving face” on the international stage is more important than ensuring the safety of its allies is an indictment of the west, and one that its leaders could quickly and easily reverse, if they could only grasp the significance of their actions.

International peacekeeping forces must remain in Kabul to complete the evacuation of not just foreign nationals, but also the thousands of Afghans who have risked everything to support western forces.

My supervisor and his team at the American defence contractor I currently work for as an English language teacher for the Afghan Air Force Academy, worked tirelessly to get me and other interpreters out. Others have not been so fortunate.

The whole world is watching. Leaving “on deadline’’ without fulfilling their promise to the interpreters, security and support staff has tarnished the west’s reputation and will dissuade allies from working alongside them in future conflicts.