Skip to content
openDemocracy
Subscribe

‘I had no hope left’: Ex-NATO contractor forced to walk across Afghan border

When the Taliban began door-to-door searches for NATO contractors, Moheeb was left with no choice but to attempt to flee the country on foot

By Deepa Parent
‘I had no hope left’: Ex-NATO contractor forced to walk across Afghan border
A Taliban fighter stands guard at a checkpoint in Kabul, Afghanistan, 3 January 2022 | REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo. All rights reserved
Published:
Share

“I had a laissez-passer letter sent by NATO and was expected to board an evacuation flight on 26 August. I was in the line-up of cars on the way to the airport when explosions hit the Abbey Gate.”

When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last summer, Moheeb had been working on security projects for NATO as part of a private Kabul-based company for the past two years.

Some of the contractors were set for evacuation. However, the bomb attacks by the ISK, an Afghanistan branch of the Islamic State group, on 26 August left many like him in limbo.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. If you have any queries about republishing please contact us. Please check individual images for licensing details.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0