About 200 people who were in buses on their way to a Dutch evacuation flight from Kabul were unable to join at the last minute last night. The reason was the deteriorating security situation at the airport, where a short time later attacks were committed.
The people had been told that they were on an evacuation list, but the other way around was not done. They have been canceled by Dutch diplomats, sources report to the NOS. Most people don’t know where they are and how they are. Many of them seem to still be in contact.
Shortly before that, 118 occupants of three other buses did manage to enter the airport grounds. Before they were allowed access to the airport, they were on the buses outside the site for more than 24 hours.
The Netherlands stopped evacuations from Afghanistan yesterday. This morning the penultimate flight with evacuees arrived at Schiphol. There were 100 passengers on board, 98 of whom have a Dutch passport. The last evacuation flight with 87 Dutch people will arrive around 1 pm this afternoon. Another plane with diplomats and soldiers will follow today or at the weekend.
8500 registrations
In recent weeks, approximately 8,500 people have reportedly reported to Dutch embassy staff in Afghanistan to qualify for evacuation to the Netherlands. They appealed to the liberalization of the admission policy that the House of Representatives forced on the caretaker cabinet ten days ago.
Initially, only Afghan interpreters and their families were allowed to come to the Netherlands. Under pressure from the House of Representatives, this was extended to include human rights activists, journalists, fixers and military personnel. It is not yet known how many of the 8,500 people were actually entitled to evacuation and which names have appeared on departure lists.
Minister Bijleveld of Defence said this morning that of the 67 interpreters still on evacuation lists, about half are still in Afghanistan. The rest was brought to the Netherlands.
2500 evacuees
Since the takeover of the Taliban, Dutch planes have taken more than 2,500 people. Of these, 1600 people had the Netherlands as their final destination, the cabinet announced yesterday.
These include 800 Dutch people, 300 interpreters and their family members and 211 embassy employees. It also concerns employees of the European Union, the United Nations and NATO, and others who were eligible for evacuation, such as human rights defenders, local employees of Dutch aid organizations and people who worked for Dutch media.
laggards
The Netherlands can do little for those left behind. The Dutch diplomats and soldiers are gone and the last Americans leave next week.
The cabinet reported yesterday that a transport plane with a small group of soldiers will remain behind, in case there is an option to evacuate “against expectations”. That device is probably located in a neighboring country.
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