Ramstein is one of the largest US airports outside the US, and has now been converted into a temporary transit point for evacuations into the US.
US President Joe Biden said on Friday that the US is undertaking “one of the biggest, most difficult airlifts in history”, acknowledging that despite the presence of thousands of US troops at Kabul airport, the situation remains dangerous. Is.
The US military expects to evacuate 5,000 to 9,000 people daily, but that goal has not yet been met. The airport was delayed for hours on Friday as destinations receiving Afghans were backed up.
Other countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia, have also evacuated hundreds of Afghans and civilians from the country.
At Ramstein Air Base, the evacuation will last approximately 48 to 72 hours, Brig. General Josh Olsson told CNN on Saturday that according to the US deal with Germany, they would not stay for more than 10 days.
Within 10 minutes of the giant C-17 Globemaster plane landing in Ramstein on Saturday afternoon, weary but happy passengers boarded buses headed to the base’s reception center. An imam is the first to greet him as he steps down from the bus and world away from the chaos and violence of Kabul airport.
Most carry a bag. There are Afghan men in traditional dress, women in loose head scarves trying to line up small children. Passing through security, a woman balances a huge bundle of clothes on her head.
There is a quick security check of the bags, water and snacks are provided and the temperature is checked for COVID-19.
But they also have clues of terror left behind – a man and woman with bandages at their ankles, as if sprained. Little boy holding hands in sling.
temporary house
Ramstein Air Base has a capacity of 5,000 people. But with flights arriving every 90 minutes, it’s filling up fast, and Olson said the team is building more facilities in a sort of tent city that will hold another 2,500 evacuees.
The living quarters are separated by gender – women and children live in tents inside the hangar, men in tents outside, with a courtyard for families to meet.
Temporary mosques include separate entrances for men and women.
Inside the tent, yellow power cables allow evacuees to charge their phones, with some new arrivals clustered around these power outlets and checking their mobiles.
Elsewhere, a wall of folding military cots is delivered, and dozens of portable toilets are lined up.
31-year-old Haseeb is amazing among those fired. Kamal is a US citizen from Richmond, Virginia, who came back to Kabul to work as a translator and married.
Kamal’s marriage took place a week ago i.e. on August 14. When the Taliban entered the city, he reached the airport with his new wife and family. But there was so much commotion that they parted ways. In the end, he could only drag his father and older sister through the gates, he told CNN.
Kamal’s wife and rest of the family are stranded in Kabul. Ever since they separated, he had only spoken to him on Saturday morning in a two-minute conversation when he landed at Ramstein. They are safe but scared, he said.
Kamal and his brother both worked as translators and his father was a colonel in the Afghan army. They fear the Taliban will target them. And while he’s grateful for the evacuation effort, he says it’s moving too slowly.
Back in Kabul, there is still deep uncertainty for the thousands still hoping to catch a flight like him.
Unstable situation at Kabul airport
Chaos at Taliban checkpoints and gates outside the airport has prevented thousands of people from entering the facility, let alone getting on planes, subjecting them to harsh conditions and Taliban violence.
Meanwhile, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, co-founder of the Taliban movement, has arrived in Kabul from Kandahar in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, according to a Taliban tweet. Baradar led talks in Doha on behalf of the Taliban and arrived in Afghanistan last week for the first time in 20 years.
On Saturday, the US embassy in Kabul issued a security alert saying US citizens should not come to Hamid Karzai International Airport unless instructed by the US government.
A source familiar with the situation on Saturday said the number of people at the airport now stands at 14,000. Reconciliation of the numbers given by the authorities on Aadhaar is often difficult and changes frequently.
The source said the flights were again heading to Qatar, Europe, possibly Hungary, and that Kuwait had agreed to accept special immigrant visa applicants, provided they were on their way to the US.
In the past day, the US military has evacuated about 3,800 people on six C-17 aircraft and 32 charter planes from Kabul airport, General Hank Taylor, deputy director of the Joint Staff for Regional Operations, said on Saturday.
Since the end of July, 22,000 people have been evacuated – 17,000 of them in the last week since 14 August. Taylor said 2,500 of those 17,000 are US citizens.
C-17 military aircraft are now “operating between Qatar and Germany,” Taylor said.
Some, such as those arriving at Ramstein, have been lucky enough to catch one of those planes.
This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the first name of one of the interviewees.
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