These photos are not ones from news media sources. They're from my friend who was waiting with her family to enter the gate/door to the airport in Kabul. The time of the photo was late morning, the heat was edging towards 30 degrees. The crowd was getting tighter. There were people who had been waiting there for days. Anyone who tried to move close to the gate was hit by guards with sticks.
"As you know, all roads in Kabul are much more secluded than in the past. Most houses are locked. Most people in the city have gathered around the airport. It is very dangerous to go and stay there, especially for children. So far, several children, men and women, have been trampled to death, and some have been injured."
This was my friend's fourth attempt. She was issued a Humanitarian Temporary Visa by the Australian government with instructions to go to this gate, but could not get any Australian representative to look at her documents and let her through. In fact, the gate had been shut since at least midnight the previous day and as we later learnt, had not opened again. Most of the people waiting had no visas.
The day before, my friend had been so tightly wedged in the crowd that she was terrified for her daughter's safety. She reported two people were crushed to death before her very eyes. The next day, soon after these photos were taken, the crowd started swelling and she saw a child next to her lose their life, perhaps from heat or something else. Then the Taliban started shooting and hitting people, and my friend decided to leave.
"If it's possible for the Australian government to organise some other way it will be very good for us."
Today, the Australian government's advice was to stay in a safe place and wait to be contacted. We are hoping my friend and her family will receive that call that will assist them to enter the airport and be evacuated to Australia. Before time runs out, very very soon.
UPDATE: This morning's news – well over 100 people killed in two explosions at that very gate.
Images courtesy of U
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