For the past four days, Nangyalai, a 42-year-old minicab driver from south London, has been queueing with his wife and 11-month-old baby outside the Baron hotel on the edge of Kabul airport, trying to get close enough to the entrance gate to show guards his British passport.
There is a sign by the gate stating: British passport holders only. Inside the hotel, officials are working to grant evacuation visas for thousands of UK nationals and Afghan citizens who have worked for British organisations. Diplomatic staff say they are “processing hundreds every hour” but there is a growing sense of despair among the crowds who have been waiting outside since the start of the week – and tensions are rising.
Speaking by phone from outside the airport, Nangyalai (whose identity we are not revealing) said his repeated attempts to attract the attention of UK officials had failed. With reports suggesting military airlifts could end within 36 hours, he was beginning to lose hope. Others described giving up and going home, concerned the crowded streets were increasingly unsafe since the Taliban said they would prevent Afghans from leaving the country they now control. » | Amelia Gentleman and Lisa O’Carroll | Wednesday, August 25, 2021
