Afghan refugees who arrived in US said they are lucky to have left Hamid Karzai International Airport because they are at special risk as they had worked for the US during the war

Abdul Waris who arrived Virginia’s Dulles Airport on Wednesday they have made several desperate attempts at leaving the country because their lives were at risk for working with the US.

According to the White House, more than 110,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan by the US since 14 August, the day before the Taliban took control of Kabul amid a government collapse and the drawdown of a 20-year US military presence.

Many of the new arrivals, like Waris, are part of the Special Immigrant Visa program for Afghans (SIV) who were at risk of reprisal under Taliban rule because they worked with the US during the war.

The stream of refugees through Dulles, situated roughly 25 miles from downtown Washington DC, is constant.
A 21-year-old Abidullah Sarwan before getting on a bus to Fort Lee in southern Virginia said,
“There were dangerous moments at Kabul airport because the Taliban surrounded the airport. They were fighting with the people … I spent two whole nights in front of the gates.

“People died and fainted due to the crowd and heat,” he said. “I’m extremely delighted [to be here] … I’m safe.”