The refugee Afghans have worked for Dutch troops, development projects and for the embassy, including interpreters. Their immediate family also came along. Some of the Afghans are still in emergency shelter, but Broekers wants them to go to structural shelter quickly. There, further steps are being taken for this group, such as arranging training. Status holders are eligible for a home, but a backlog has arisen because there is a shortage of homes.
Taliban takeover
The massive flight, also to other European countries, started after the takeover by the radical Islamist Taliban this summer. That happened when western countries withdrew their troops from Afghanistan.
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The Netherlands actually wanted to get many more people out of Afghanistan, but that was not possible because the evacuation operation got off to a slow start and was terminated prematurely under pressure from the Taliban.
Foreign soldiers, including Dutch ones, spent twenty years in Afghanistan. The reason was Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda attack on the United States in September 2001.
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