How Ahmed (name changed) escaped the Taliban: The bone-chilling Story

Hey guys, how are you doing? Merry Christmas to everybody. So I'm making this call to somebody in Afghanistan. He was in Afghanistan, now he's escaped the Taliban and he is in a safe country. Okay, we're going to have a podcast. I forgot to switch on the podcast.

Once more.

Hello everybody, hi, how are you doing today? So Merry Christmas from Canada, everybody. So this is a very important podcast day. So let me make the call first of all. I'm making a call, international call to a person. So yes. So hi, we'll call you Ahmed just to protect your identity. So how will you say hi to the listeners? Ahmed, can you hear me?

Yes, yes.

Say hi to the listeners. We are we online.

Okay. So hi guys. I'm Ahmed, a friend of Kabiri, and I'm glad I have the opportunity to talk to you.

Thank you, thank you. So, uh, guys, this is getting recorded simultaneously for YouTube, Anchor, Spotify, and I'm also sharing with the other podcast platforms as soon as I learn how to do it. So Merry Christmas to you all, and today my podcast guest is a young man who escaped the Talibans. Tune in to listen to his bone-chilling experience about how he escaped from the Talibans when they occupied Afghanistan. I played a small part in his escape. I created a GoFundMe funding where we collected over $10,000 to help him escape, and I want to use this platform to extend my— our gratefulness and gratitude and our thanks to all those who, those who contributed in the GoFundMe. So thank you so much. So not just himself, he helped 6 others to escape. He is now in a safe country, and we shall call him Ahmed just to protect his identity since his family is still in Afghanistan. So, okay, now he's speaking from another continent, so his phone may get disconnected sometimes. I just want you to guys keep listening so that it can be connected again. And so, Ahmed, tell us, tell us, how did it all begin? Because when I spoke to you last, while the Taliban were advancing Afghanistan after the government Afghan government fell, you were so scared. You told me just another day and we will be under the Taliban. So tell us how did you plan your escape and how did it begin? How did it happen?

Thank you. Merry Christmas to to your listeners, to everyone that is listening to this podcast. At the moment. And thank you for your generosity and helping me raise the amount that you mentioned. In my personal experience, I never thought, I never thought I would be leaving my country in the way that I did. It wasn't in my wildest imagination. Things were very changing very quickly back in the days during August 2021. Yeah, the same year. And and I almost run out of ideas to to plan the you know the escape. The Taliban were moving so quickly city by city. District by district, block by block, they were moving ahead and they were marching towards Kabul. And by the time that the cities and provinces around Kabul fell to Taliban, I was paranoid and I thought that this is it. It's becoming a reality that we We soon will be living under the Taliban. And I expected no way to escape the country. The airports were under Taliban control. The roads were under Taliban control. The borders were— Borders were— all 5 borders across Afghanistan Those were the areas that at the beginning of this collapse happened to be held by the Taliban. So in those crazy days that I should say, there were a friend who called me and said that there is a plane leaving for Europe, and you could, you could try and you could succeed at onboarding and leaving the country. I, I was, I was, uh, with my friends. It was evening, 4 o'clock in the evening, and I didn't believe this, uh, this, this thing to happen to me because The airport, the main Kabul airport, was surrounded by tens of thousands of people trying to escape the Taliban before they arrived in Kabul.

Yeah.

And there was by no means any chance to get into the airport and try to get evacuated with the international troops.

And your passport was expired, you said, remember?

Mine was not expired.

Oh, yours was okay.

I had another, another person, uh, with me who came with an expired passport.

Okay.

I had a valid passport, but getting into the airport was like almost like defeating the Taliban throughout the country, you know. So it was chaotic. Every single person wanted to leave before they arrived, before the Taliban arrived to Kabul.

Yeah.

So I got a message and then I just, I, I, I, it was impossible, uh, A, because of the chaos around the airport, B, I couldn't leave my family behind to Taliban escape. And, uh, Yeah, so I still give it a try, and I say like, what if I escape and I find a way in a third country for my family to escape and come after me? Yeah, this was, this was something that made sense.

Yeah.

Because if I, if I had to stay behind, I wouldn't be able to help myself. Leave alone helping my family to do anything or go anywhere. So I left around 7 PM. There was the— there was— there was the announcement that came from the Taliban. By mid— I received that call a day after the Kabul city fell to the Taliban. Oh, okay. Yeah, a day after that. Okay, okay. So by the evening that I received the call, there was an announcement from Taliban that nobody can move around the city between 7 PM to 5 PM in the morning. 7 PM in the evening and 5 AM in the morning. So I left my family exactly at the same, uh, my house. Okay, exactly at 7 PM. I took the risk.

That was a big risk. Big risk you took.

It was a big risk, but, um, I, I took it because the Taliban were not organized when they arrived in Kabul.

Yeah.

They were kinda celebrating the, the victory. They were not like at control, you know?

Yeah.

So I, I, I, I, I thought that if every day, if more days, uh, the more they spend the time, uh, time in Kabul they will get organized and they will have checkpoints and they will have stoppages and they will have control over the city.

So this—

it was the best time to take that risk because they were stopping nobody. They were like celebrating their win. So I went to stay with a friend near the airport.

Yeah.

Because we had the This is the flight schedule for tomorrow.

So how did you travel from your home to the airport? Did you go by car or public vehicle?

It was a public bus.

Okay.

Because, yeah, because I, I didn't try to take a taxi because we could have been stopped.

Yeah.

A public bus or transport vehicle is more like, you know, you have 30 to 40 people in Like, you're not just alone to be specified or identified, you know?

Yeah, that's true.

And also it was late back in those days. I remember we had no, we had no power and electricity in Kabul. It was like one day of electricity in a week, so Oh my God. By the time it was evening, it was already dark, and, uh, so there was chaos around the city. So I just tried to get into a friend's house near the airport. We were told to be at the XYZ gate, airport gate, tomorrow by 5.

5 AM.

And 5 AM was exactly the time. That the Taliban announced that you cannot move around the city.

Oh, okay. So you escaped like on the, on the edge of the knife? It was like on the edge of the knife?

Yeah, um, yeah, from my, from my, from my house, yeah. But from the country—

So how did you board the plane? Like, whoa. So how did you get into the plane? Let's not, you know, mention the particular army who helped you, but I know your army people helped you. We cannot mention the army because of— because to protect your private security, protect your privacy. So yeah, tell me about that army.

Let me tell you what happened. During the night that we stayed at our friend's.

Okay.

Well, I came back to, to the house gate, the main gate, and I, I saw from, from a spot, I saw that there was a Taliban vehicle Which was checking the house next to my friend's house. Like, they were at night, they were like, uh, they were there to check, uh, in search of a house. And I was like, wow.

Hmm.

And my friend was a government worker, and I was like, we shall be next to be searched. That was very scary, but luckily we escaped that and they didn't try to search this particular house.

Okay.

So by in the morning, we woke up and by the time it's 5:10, we left the house to not break any rules. We took a taxi to that particular XYZ gate.

Yeah.

And, uh, yeah, when we arrived to the gate, there were— this gate was— it was not a proper gate. It was just a new gateway that the army have built to distract the other tens of thousands of people from getting into the airport. It was a new What do I call it?

Entrance or something.

Entrance, yeah. So we arrived there by the earliest possible, um, and slowly, slowly some people were figuring it, figuring it out, like there is a new entrance. So local people slowly gather and put pressure on the get. But we, um, there was this guy from, from that hour of meet, and he came forward. He was like, um, we had a mark that we should have white scarves. Yeah. Like all the group that we were So, and they were like, Mark, uh, calling us like, you guys need to come forward.

Yeah.

Um, so when we, we, when we got closer to them, they were like, you could— they checked the name and we were on the list. So we got in. I couldn't believe myself. Like, the moment that I crossed the international troops at the entrance, I felt secure.

Yeah.

You know, it wasn't that much margin between, you know, being outside and being inside. It was just a 1 or 2 meter space. But in between those 1, 2 meters, they could— I felt secure. I felt like, okay, I'm protected now.

Okay.

But I couldn't believe it. I was like, there could be some error along the way. Maybe the list is not the final list.

Maybe—

but I couldn't believe it that we could fly.

Yeah.

And, you know, escape. But going forward, we were searched, our bags were searched.

So what did you manage to carry in your bag?

Just my laptop and passport and nothing else. One pair of clothes, shoes. My brother, my uncle, and me.

So your brother also could not carry anything except for his Clothes that he was wearing, probably.

Yeah, exactly. So when we got in, there was a— so because it was an international evacuation process, like there were other countries involved too, so they had their own space. Like Germany had their own space, you can say America, the US, Canada had their own space. So every single country, like there were 20+ countries that were evacuating people, you know.

Okay.

So they all had their own area of bringing people and then registering them and then flying them out. We went to this camp Organized for us inside the airport, and we, we arrived there by 9 AM in the morning, and we stayed there until 10 PM in the, uh, in the night.

So you arrived in the country where you were taken, uh, which—

No, inside the airport.

Inside there.

Okay, so once you got into the airport, and then organize it inside the camp and then fly them out.

Oh, okay, okay.

Yeah, so there we stayed like for almost 15 hours.

So that was a safe zone? That was a safe zone? Like once you got in, you are—

It was a safe zone, but there was shootings around the airport.

Oh.

And I asked some people like what's happening, and they were like Taliban are trying to distract people from entering the airport or, you know, threaten them to not enter the airport and not create chaos, you know.

Mm-hmm.

So there were several shootings and stuff, and I, I was like scared that maybe the Taliban could break into the airport and make all the process just a mess in Maybe the international troops will just fly out and leave everyone behind, you know.

Yeah.

But luckily we had our flight at 10 p.m. in the night.

Okay.

And yeah, we went to Qatar. No.

Kuwait.

Okay. And then from Kuwait, we, we were brought to this country that I'm in now.

Yeah, so you changed flights in Kuwait?

Yes. Okay, we stopped in, uh, we stopped in Islamabad. Um, it was a long stop, almost 3 hours.

Okay.

But I didn't get it that What was that? What was going on there? I I think they they they didn't reach an agreement with the Pakistani authorities to change the flight in Islamabad because you know all of this thing maybe your listeners know that the whole thing was created by Pakistan in Afghanistan. So yeah, we know because Pakistan Pakistan was was, rather than a want, they need economic benefits out of the war in Afghanistan, which is directly at that moment, which it was the evacuation process that they benefited from. with millions of dollars in pocket. They were facilitating these flights from Kabul to Islamabad and then to the West, and they charged the international community with hundreds of millions of dollars.

So, yeah, sorry.

Yeah, we went from Islamabad to Kuwait and then from Kuwait to this part of the world. Yeah.

So now that you're happily settled here and We are glad to say we got to mention that it's because of the contributions from from different people, thousands of people on GoFundMe that Ahmed is now living happily with his family. Yes, they are they're really tight as far as funding is concerned because they have to still get their papers in March and then they can start working. A whole lot of technicalities involved in this, but they're in a peaceful country and his brother is attending school. And both of them, they're looking for jobs, they're hunting for jobs. And okay, now, but his family is still in Afghanistan. So Ahmed, tell us, what is the situation, status of your family? Are they working? Are they at home? How are they doing?

Yeah, my family is at the moment at You know, I'm talking to you, my sisters are not going to school, my brothers are not going to school. The, uh, you know, my, my brother and father, and they are not able to, to make any income, you know, because, uh, it's almost 3 months from, from the collapse.

Yeah.

The country is, uh, going into, uh, crisis, uh, faster than anything, you know.

Yes.

Like every single moment there's a message in my, uh, inbox, uh, friend asking for help who I never heard asking for Well, before, because they were able to sustain, you know.

Now that you've become— you've escaped, so you become like a hero to your country, in your country, that you've been able to—

Um, I mean, I'm glad that one way or another things worked out. I can, I can do something. Yeah, even through the funds that we have raised. I donated parts of that to those friends in need because, yeah, they were in a crucial situation. But the situation, not just for my family but everyone, is so tense in terms of income, economy, even security. The Taliban are like They are still searching houses. They are still pinpointing people. They are still targeting people.

My God.

But that is not breaking into the news, you know.

Yeah, lots of news has been— news has stopped covering completely. That's the thing.

Yeah, it's so, it's so, it's so scary and it's so insecure that whenever you step out of your house You are in danger of being shot at by a Taliban or stopped and abused by a Taliban soldier or the ground soldier.

That's right.

Anything can happen to you. There are videos and stories on social media, and I hear from my friends that young people were shot dead in the city center. Because they didn't stop their car for, you know, for a ground Taliban soldier. You know, that's very wild in, you know, if you can imagine, by a single mistake as small as that, that you didn't notice to stop for a ground soldier.

Yeah, you could be anywhere in the world, they would give you a ticket if you not, uh, obey the laws. They would just give you a ticket.

It's not law. It's not—

it's not even law. Yeah, they don't have any laws.

They don't even have police, you know. They don't even have checkpoints. It's just a random Taliban standing somewhere in the city, and if he dislike you, if he is mad, if he has a mood mood swing, you could be shot dead, you know. It's like, why didn't you stop just by crossing and you just didn't check with me? It's not— it's a law, you know.

Yeah.

And it's completely— the country is in danger, I would say, not just my family.

Yes, so we have to have international communities speaking up for this, but I think International communities have stopped speaking about this, and even news portals have stopped giving out news about the— and people have started kind of accepting the Taliban to be a part of the government, international government. And even like big international entities are holding talks with the Taliban. So it's a crazy situation we are living in. And we just want the nightmare to pass. But like Isma, sorry, like Ahmed and others who he helped six others escape, I just you know we have to wind this up now. So I just hope you guys have now settled in one place. Just get your family over as soon as possible, as fast as possible, and for that if. If we can have some more donations, I'm asking my listeners to please let me know if you can donate something. We can arrange another GoFundMe campaign for Ahmed and his family to come over to wherever he is right now in a peaceful country, and hope we can help him.

One thing I want to add to that is When I arrived to this country, I could reach out to the authorities. And because the evacuation process was still going on back then, so I could put some names on the list of the evacuation.

Yeah, yeah, you did, you did.

They actually have come here and settled in a secure place, and they are very happy.

That's remarkable. That is why you're— so many people are now reaching out to help them, for you to help them. But we want to help them together. Like, we want the entire world community to come forward and help the Akans because there's nobody speaking for them anymore. So we want— I am starting this podcast with the, with the, uh, with that hope that people come forward and start, you know, advocating this Again, once again. So thank you, Amit, for all your, uh, for your bone-chilling experience that you had. I'm sure our listeners are going to be like, going to really, uh, be listening to this, you know. I don't know how they're going to react, so I'm waiting for the reactions. And this is going on simultaneously on YouTube, and just keep watching, guys, and So Ahmed, say thanks and I'll say bye to you.

Yeah, thank you to everyone who made the time to listen to our story and this podcast. And if they want to help in any way, they can reach out to you or—

Yeah, we are planning to create another GoFundMe campaign on the internet.

that is helping Afghans. So yeah, this is the time that—

Yeah, this is the time to face your conscience, and we cannot let this nightmare carry on. This nightmare needs to stop somewhere.

Yes.

Thanks so much, Ahmed, for your time. You have a good one. Bye-bye.

Thank you for having me. Bye.

Bye-bye. Okay, so that was Ahmed's story. And I just hope you guys— okay, I'll stop recording, stop recording, stop recording. So I hope you guys like this podcast, and let me know what else do you want me to include in the podcast for the coming episodes so that, you know, we can include those. Take care and have a great day.