'Impossible' to get to safety, says Irish citizen stranded in Kabul with his wife and daughters
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An Irish citizen stuck in Afghanistan with his young family has said it was “impossible” to get his family to the place where he was meant to be evacuated by Irish embassy staff.
Omid Ahmadi, who has lived in Ireland for 18 years, travelled to Afghanistan with his wife and two daughters aged just two and four, before the Taliban seized control — and he hasn't been able to get out since.
“We were called to go to the airport by our embassy staff but the route was chaos,” he said.
Speaking to , he explained how there were over 10,000 people waiting outside the airport: "Everybody was going through that route. We couldn’t make it.
Mr Ahmadi, who spent 12 hours “in chaos” trying to get to Irish embassy staff in Kabul, said he hasn’t been in contact with embassy staff since his first attempt.
“I don’t want to risk my life again through that route,” he said.
When asked whether he might be a target for the Taliban, Mr Ahmaid said he did have family members who worked for the previous government, but that “everybody is at risk at this stage”.
“Nobody knows what is going to happen tomorrow or the next day.”
A joint statement issued by 100 countries including Ireland, the UK, and the United States last night said that the Taliban has given assurances that "all foreign nationals and any Afghan citizen with travel authorisation from other countries will be allowed to proceed in a safe and orderly manner to points of departure and travel outside the country" beyond the August 31 deadline.
While Mr Ahmadi said he hoped that would be the case, he isn't reassured.
“Looking at the current situation.. the airport is in chaos. I don’t see them letting the flights, especially international flights, be activated very soon."
Mr Ahmaid said he will take “any opportunity” to get his children out of this chaos: “I went to the Pakistan Embassy to see if I can get access for a transit visa and we will travel there, but I am not sure that is going to happen … any opportunity that I see I will run for it,” he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is currently working with 65 Irish citizens and residents trapped in Afghanistan.