Security

France continues effort to aid Afghans after airlift ends

By Salaam Times

During an August airlift, French forces evacuated almost 3,000 people from Kabul, including 2,630 Afghans and 142 French nationals. [French Ministry of Armed Forces]

During an August airlift, French forces evacuated almost 3,000 people from Kabul, including 2,630 Afghans and 142 French nationals. [French Ministry of Armed Forces]

French forces at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) worked under tough conditions in August to airlift almost 3,000 Afghans, French nationals and others out of Afghanistan.

Operation Apagan transported 2,630 Afghans and 142 French nationals, including diplomatic personnel, out of the country following the rapid deterioration of security after the Taliban seized control.

Though the operation concluded in late August, France remains committed to facilitating the evacuation of "all those who must be protected", the French Ministry of Armed Forces said August 28.

During the 10-day operation, French tactical aircraft transported evacuees to a base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and from there to France.

French soldiers set up tents at the refugee reception centre at a French air base near Abu Dhabi on August 23, as part of Operation Apagan. [Bertrand Guay/AFP]

French soldiers set up tents at the refugee reception centre at a French air base near Abu Dhabi on August 23, as part of Operation Apagan. [Bertrand Guay/AFP]

People disembark from an Airbus transport at the French military air base 104 al-Dhafra, near Abu Dhabi, on August 23, after being evacuated from Kabul as part of Operation Apagan. [Bertrand Guay/AFP]

People disembark from an Airbus transport at the French military air base 104 al-Dhafra, near Abu Dhabi, on August 23, after being evacuated from Kabul as part of Operation Apagan. [Bertrand Guay/AFP]

The UAE base served "as a military hub to ensure the back and forth between Abu Dhabi and Kabul", Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said August 16.

In a speech delivered the same day, French President Emanuel Macron said "the absolute priority is to ensure the security of our compatriots, who must all leave the country, as well as Afghans who have worked for France".

France "is one of the very few countries that decided it had to have the means on the ground until the very end to protect those who worked for us", he said.

"Afghanistan's future is in its own hands," he said, but France "will continue to stand with Afghan men and women in a spirit of comradeship".

It will do this "by supporting Afghan civil society and doing our duty to protect those whom we can protect; by saying very clearly to those who choose war, obscurantism and blind violence that they are choosing isolation; by always standing with those who fight for freedom and women’s rights, who send the world the same message that we do", he said.

"That is the choice of reason, the choice of who we are at our core."

During Operation Apagan, French forces made 26 connections between HKIA and the UAE in tactical aircraft (A400M and C130), and 16 flights between the UAE and France in strategic aircraft (A310 and A330).

Because of the large number of aircraft at HKIA, France co-ordinated closely with allies and other nations to ensure flight safety, the Ministry of Armed Forces said.

The French forces demonstrated their ability to carry out an evacuation mission in a highly sensitive context and under a pervasive terrorist threat, it said.

At the air base in Abu Dhabi, French forces distributed more than 7,000 meals, set up an additional 500 beds and provided all the basic necessities for the evacuees, the ministry said.

More work to be done

During an August 24 visit to Afghan refugees staying at a hotel in a Paris suburb, French Prime Minister Jean Castex promised them that France "will take responsibility", Euronews reported.

"France must protect those who, in one way or another, have helped the French Republic. And France is also a land of asylum and owes protection to those who are particularly vulnerable," he said.

The hotel has taken in hundreds of men, women and children, all evacuated from Kabul since mid-August.

A Foreign Ministry official told Euronews that after the conclusion of Operation Apagan there is still work to be done to bring others out of Afghanistan.

France has called for the establishment of humanitarian operations to assist the thousands of stranded Afghans to leave by other means.

"Our efforts continue," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Parly said in a joint statement August 28.

Meanwhile, Afghans who wish to apply for asylum in France will be given financial and administrative assistance during the application and integration process, the Ministry of Armed Forces said.

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What will happen to the fate of Afghans who are taken to France? Will they be provided with works? Will they be given work opportunities that suit their education level, or will they be doing only physical work?

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Thanks to France who assisted in evacuating Afghan filmmakers, journalists and artists. My request to France is to assist in evacuating the filmmakers who are still stranded in Afghanistan. I am also one of them. Many thanks. I am Wais Mohammad Amiri, one of the Afghan filmmakers.

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Hello, I was cooperating with the Leopard Family Program in the women's section in the Ministry of Public Health's for ten years. Can you help me?

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Hello, thanks to France for helping the Afghans. We already registered via email, but we have not received any response yet.

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Hello, I am Mohammad and I am a university student. We want to get help and we want to live in France.

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Our house was also destroyed in the fighting. Neither do we have a place to live in, nor do we have enough money to pay for the monthly house rent. Two of my brothers work for the government, and now the Taliban threatens them, and they are at risk, so I wish you would take out our family from these dangers. Thanks.

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When do European countries, including Germany and France, transfer their local Afghan employees to those countries? They evacuated themselves, but they abandoned their employees. Many former employees of Germany got stuck in Afghanistan and cannot even go to the neighboring countries. They said they talked to Taliban, and Taliban would allow Germans’ employees to travel, but when will this evacuation process begin? People are facing very serious problems. Kabul Airport is now ready for international flights, and now people can fly directly from Kabul to Germany. They only need confirmation documents from Germany. Germany must begin the process of transferring its local employees from Afghanistan as soon as possible, because security threats are posed to all of these employees by Taliban and other armed groups.

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Hello, one thing that the French people and other foreign countries should pay attention to is that there are some people among the refugees, who do not have life threat at all, and who don’t have any document or evidence, but are included in the name of refugee at risk due to the cooperation they have with the people at the airport. In my opinion, these people should be differentiated and those who are safe should not leave the country. This is your mother land, and you must continue.

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How can we submit our application to seek asylum in France?

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I am extremely under the pressure of Taliban in Afghanistan. Please help me If you can.

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They have done very good work. Thanks

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Hi I want to Afghanistan also I worked with this embassy in 2019

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Hi dear i am son of afghan my father did work with american army in khost province in kpf.the taliban killed my father . I did research fainaly I found thos who killed my father they were my father´s relatives in taliban then i did aske from them the told me we killed your father we will kill you and your brothers so we have power now. I want from you to save my live and my family live. sincerly : Aryan

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It is a good move, but do you have any evacuation plans for the people who went illegally from Afghanistan to other neighboring countries, such as Iran or not? If so, how? Do you evacuate them from there?

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They have done very well. Afghans should be facilitated to go from Afghanistan to France, America, Canada..., and we should be facilitated soon because it is no more possible to live here in Afghanistan.

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But I still remain in Afghanistan. So how can I take refuge in a European country? I face a lot of problems, and there is danger at every moment. There are problems, fighting, war and insecurity. I really need your help.

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We proud of those people who helped for Afghans in this bad security satuation my self working for long time with SOLIDARITIES

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I have neither peace of mind, nor peace of spirit. I do not know what to do. I face unemployment, lack of money, family expenses. I am surprised and I don't know what direction the future is going to?

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Hello and greetings to those who convey our problems to the Crisis Center of the French Foreign Ministry. I worked in social and developmental services with Solidarity International, which is a French organization. It also gave me Support and Referral Letter. My life is at risk because I am also a member of the National Resistance Front of Panjshir, and am always living in fear, stress and terror. I have already applied for visa in the crisis center of French Foreign Ministry, and sent them all necessary documents and information through an email, but unfortunately they did not give reply. Please help me and convey my request and voice to the relevant department. My life is in danger. Please rescue my life.

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Dear Sir/Madam, salaam. You know better that Afghanistan is no longer a right place for living. We live in bad conditions. Please help us to get out of this bad condition if it is possible.

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Greetings! why does European Union not make a decision to make plan for the withdrawal of its colleagues together?

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Hello and greeting, I worked in the refugee section of the French Organization, MDM in Herat, Afghanistan, and I worked for a while in other NGO. I have documents from both organizations. Also, right now I am busy as a civil society woman activist in authorship, particularly poetry. I also published a work after a continuous effort, and the rest of works such as documentary stories are remained incomplete, because it is not possible for me to continue these works in the current situation of Afghanistan. I request the government of France and its officials to help me. With regards

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I am a grade 11's student. I live in Kabul. Taliban don’t allow me to go to school. Our family members’ lives are at risk, because they worked in a government department. Please help.

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Hello and greeting to you ladies and gentlemen! I have worked as a supervisor with WHO, in the polio vaccination section for 12 years. Also from July 2nd 2018 to March 5th 2019, I worked with MSF Organization, but I have not received any help.

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Greetings! I worked with Frenchs for a period of 10 years, but unfortunately they did not help me at all.

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Hello, I am a senior high school student. Educational conditions are not appropriate in Afghanistan. My and my family's lives are in danger. Please help.

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I and my family like thousands of other citizens got stuck under the shadow of the terrorist Taliban. Is there any way to help us?

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Greetings and regards to you! You know that the current situation in Afghanistan is a dangerous tragedy. We are in a bad situation. I am waiting to get a reply on the humanitarian help from your side.

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I also remained under the government of the terrorist Taliban the same as thousands of other citizens. Is there any way to help me?

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It is a good work. It would be better that the people who served in the security departments before are transferred first to safe places if it is possible, because they face more danger.

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Please help us. We live in Kabul. The situation here gets more difficult day by day. Please help.

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Greetings! hope you are fine. We are left in Afghanistan. My life is at risk. Please help us, please.

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From where should we start to get help to go to France from Afghanistan? How can we get the forms?

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Many Afghans like us are stuck under the black colonizing government. Make more efforts to provide them with help.

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It is a very good and punctual opinion. I welcome it.

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I worked in the legal section. I face a hard situation now. I hid myself in unknown places in Afghanistan so that no one has clues about me. It is not clear how long more I will stay in these unknown places. However, I thank France for making a lot of efforts to help Afghans, and showed its humanitarian feeling more than before.❤️

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Currently, we are not in a situation to tell something. We live in Kabul. I have a five-member family. We face poverty and unemployment.

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It should be taken into practice. The statement senselessly makes one happy and that is all.

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If I and my husband were not obliged, we would have stayed in our country, but today’s situation is very difficult for us and we do not have hope for a better tomorrow because we do not know whether we will survive or not. Therefore, we request the Embassy of France to help us as soon as possible because we don’t have a place to live in Kabul, nor do we have anything to eat. We are very worried about our future. Please help us; we would be very grateful. Thanks for your humanitarian cooperation.

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Hello, I am Emal, a high school graduate. I live in Afghanistan. The current security situation of Afghanistan is bad. Poverty and hardship have reached their peak. Taliban have warned us many times. I cannot continue my education in Afghanistan. My future in Afghanistan seems bad. Please help me. My family's life is at risk. We request you to help us in this day, please. Reply

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From my point of view, Taliban are terrorists, illiterate, wild, ignorant, unofficial and nonpolitical, and Pakistani slaves and are trained in Pakistan, and are created for the destruction of our country in order to occupy our country. How can they run the government? They will destroy the people of Afghanistan, and make them face economic problems, lack of facilities. People will remain backward in everything. Illiteracy, lack of money, incompetence of running a political system and political game, and lack of good view, lack of unity, solidarity and spreading of ethnocentrism, and that is why we are facing a collapse. I and my family don’t want to be in Afghanistan in this situation. I want to go to a country, where there are clever people and have good view, and have developed country and have high importance, and where there is not lack of anything so that we can be a successful and educated family and serve the society of that country.

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People who are outside of Afghanistan like those residing in Turkey and cannot return to Afghanistan should also be helped. In my case, I don't know what will happen in my right in case if I am forced to return to Afghanistan.

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The journalists are facing more life threats. It will be very good if the European countries help.

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Hello, I am Ameer. I graduated from 12th grade. I live in Afghanistan. The security situation is worse in Afghanistan now. Poverty and hunger reached to their peak. Taliban have warned us many times. I cannot continue my education in Afghanistan. My future in Afghanistan seems bad. Please help me. My family life is at risk. We request you to help us please.

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Yes, this information was very effective. Thanks.

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Hello, I am a grade 11's student of Esteqlal High School. Taliban are threatening us. They don’t let us when we want to go to school. They have detained two of my classmates, and there is no news about them so far and we ask you to do something for us.

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Why you did not write it in the French language as it could attract them? My brother, this is my personal opinion.

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Hello, I also sent all of my documents to one of my family member in France, and all of them are proofs and evidences, because I also need to seek asylum in France. I hope one day I can also go to France because I have a political case. Thanks

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Greetings! I am a defense lawyer and defender of women's rights in Afghanistan, and I need help.

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Please help me, please, my life is at risk.

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I want to seek asylum in France. Is it possible? How can they help me if it is possible? Because I do not want to stay in Afghanistan anymore.

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Please help me, please, my life is at risk.

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Hello, I worked with ACTED, a French organization for 27 years. Please help me

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Thanks to France for helping Afghans.

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Hello, I worked for eight years with welfare organizations, which were related to France. I was threatened many times. I was even held captive by Taliban in Dara-e- Sauf District of Samangan while working with those organizations. Then, with the intercession of the people of the area and by giving them a guarantee letter that I would no longer work with the organizations, I was released. However, I worked with them for two more years and until the end of the project. Due to the threats posed to me and to the rest of my family members, I want to go abroad from Mazar-e- Sharif, Afghanistan. So far no news has come to me from France. I don’t know what to do. Thanks

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Thanks for your information. My dear friend, an invitation letter was sent to me from France, and now I got stuck in Kabul. What is your advice to me?

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How can an invitation come in the messenger?
Rahmatullah Hedayati

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My brother is in France; how can we become refugees there? Because our lives are at risk. There is no news about our father who was a soldier, and my mother and our fate is not known.

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I want to go out of Afghanistan. Can you help me?

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How can you help me?

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Hello, I am a high school graduate. My family members were killed in the fighting between Taliban and the government. Only my husband and I were left a live. We are very worried about our future. Please help us because we don’t want to stay in Afghanistan anymore. Our lives are at risk. We want to seek asylum in France, please help us.

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The French Operation, as a result of which three thousand people were evacuated, has its own importance; however, I was surprised to see the possibilities and capacity of America as they evacuated 120 thousand people only in a few days, and then they pledged to provide all of them with residences. America should continue its assistance with Afghans; they should do development works in Afghanistan and eliminate the created space. We don't want Afghanistan to only remains to China.

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