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'People piled on top of each other': Afghan singer Aryana Saeed recalls 'absolute chaos' at Kabul airport
Afghan singer Aryana Sayeed recently escaped from Taliban-controlled Kabul, and recalled the experience.
Afghan singer Aryana Sayeed, who recently escaped from the country, has recalled the 'absolute chaos' at the Kabul airport. Calling herself lucky, she said that a crying mother asked her to take her baby along with her.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan last week as the United States and its allies withdrew troops from the country. Thousands of people have been trying to escape the country fearing a repeat of the five-year Taliban regime that was toppled in 2001.
In an interview with NDTV, Aryana Sayeed said, "The day I had the flight out of Kabul, the Taliban were already all over the place. It was horrifying to see thousands rush to the airport... There was absolute chaos at the airport. Children were crying, people piled on top of each other. There was no space, no air to breathe. It was heartbreaking. I was lucky... one of the lucky ones with a UK passport who could get out."
Aryana recalled a woman approaching her with her baby when she was about to board the plane. "She was screaming and crying and she gave me the baby, as I was about to go inside, asking me to take the baby with me. But I thought how can I separate a baby from its mother? I asked the soldier if we can take both of them with us. But, unfortunately, the soldiers could not," Aryana said. She handed the baby back to the mother.
She said that 'there will be no future for Afghan women'. She also hoped that women don't get 'shot in the head, like they used to (under the previous Taliban regime)'." She also expressed concern about the women 'who will be stuck inside their houses'.
According to news agency AFP, the US and its allies have been flying out thousands of Afghans every day. The Afghan capital's airport has been gripped by chaos as US-led troops try to maintain a secure perimeter for evacuation flights, surrounded by desperate Afghans. Some have foreign passports, visas or eligibility to travel, but most do not. At least eight people have died.
