Out of Afghanistan

Episode 1 - Chaos in Kabul

Listen on

Episode notes

First-hand accounts from two families who were caught up in the chaos of Kabul airport as they had to flee Afghanistan. Yusef had travelled to the UK in advance and was in quarantine when the Taliban seized control of the capital. His wife Sherbano was in shock when she saw them seize the police station and she was forced to leave their home and take their daughter Malalai and teenage nephew to the airport. Reports of crowd surges and deaths had already spread and she was terrified of what lay ahead. Nine-year-old Malalai also shares how they struggled to get through and saw Western military and Taliban forces face to face at the airport.
Afzal had not believed NATO forces would really withdraw from Afghanistan and was trying to get his passport on the day the capital was seized. His family were separated in the airport grounds and he shares his desperate struggle to unite with his pregnant wife and three children in the crowds and get them onto a flight before the deadline passed.

Presenter - Stuart Ramsay
Producer - Anne-Marie Bullock with Dominque van Heerden
Digital production - David Chipakupaku
Sound design - Will Chalk
Editor - Paul Stanworth