A young Irish national stranded in Kabul described the situation there as «crazy».
«You can hear hundreds of planes in the sky, explosions around Kabul, mostly at the airport,» he told the Irish Times on Monday night. «The street itself looks empty and frightened, with a sense of despondency and despair.»
The Taliban are out on the road, their guns and no one responds to them. They can shoot anyone they want without any consequences. Moreover, they are looking for people who have worked in the government or with foreigners in the past.”
He said his neighbor, who had worked with the Afghan government in the past, had been kidnapped. «No one knows where he is now.»
“It is only in my heart to see so many people suffering, women, men and children, without jobs, and the economy dwindling. It seems to be back in the Stone Age. It is just disheartening.”
«And the situation, in my opinion, is not improving.»
The man, who asked not to be named out of fear for his family’s safety, was contacted via a phone connection to the Internet that broke down frequently.
He is among about 60 Irish citizens in Kabul, and their family members, who are seeking support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After graduating from an Irish university, he was working with a company in Ireland, before going to visit family members in Afghanistan a few months ago.
He said, in part because he and his family members in Afghanistan contracted Covid-19 during his visit there, he has not been able to return to Ireland in recent months and is now stuck in Kabul after the collapse of the Afghan government.
He wants to return to Ireland but is reluctant to do so without his wife and other family members.
He explained that the family feared that they were in danger because one of their relatives had previously worked for an American company.
The man said he was «fine» and hoped he would be fine, but his worries were about his wife and other family members.
I was going to get a passport for my wife and then the government fell. Right now, I can’t get her a passport because every office is closed with no details of when it will open.»
He now resides with his wife in her family home.
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