Woman has saved 15,000 people who have fled Taliban one year on from terror attack

Woman has saved 15,000 people who have fled Taliban one year on from terror attack
Today marks one year since the suicide bombing at Kabul Airport, Afghanistan (Picture: AP) It has been one year since a deadly suicide bombing in Afghanistan killed at least 183 people trying to be evacuated at Kabul Airport. The so-called Islamic State terror group, also known as Daesh, claimed responsibility for the attack at the packet airport, where thousands of Afghans were desperately trying escape the Taliban who had recently taken power. One year on, a heroic woman has told of her honour at rescuing 15,000 people from the country since the government fell.
Katrina Johnson, 56, from Glasgow, was consul general and post security officer at the British Embassy in Kabul from January 2020 until the evacuation last year. Earlier this year, she received an OBE as part of the Queen’s Jubilee Honours for her work. A year on from the horrific bombing, she recalled what it was like working in Afghanistan when the government fell at the heart of the UK’s emergency mission Operation Pitting.
She said: ‘We got 15,000 people out – many of whom would not be alive today – so I feel strongly that is something to be proud about. Thousands of people tried to flee the country during the days of the Taliban takeover (Picture: AP) The takeover by the Taliban has led to further political unrest in the country (Picture: AP) Taliban fighters slowly took control across the whole of Afghanistan (Picture: AP) Many families sheltered in US military aircraft (Picture: AFP via Getty Images) ‘In Kabul, I was seeing the best and the worst of humanity. It was a harrowing experience because you were dealing face-to-face with families in the most desperate of situations.
‘The lovely moments were when I could tell people we were getting them out to the UK. ‘It was the best feeling when they would ask “When?” and I’d say, “We’re going to put you in an armoured vehicle right now and put you on a plane”. They couldn’t believe it.
‘Many people we saw had been victims of violence as they made their way through Taliban checkpoints. We heard reports of the Taliban carrying out executions elsewhere. ‘One of the saddest conversations I had was with a Unicef colleague about how they were overwhelmed picking up Afghan children at the airport who had been discarded like shopping trollies in a car park.
‘We all held babies at some stage and you do wonder how many children were left with no parents and what happened. ‘I remember a very feisty 11-year-old who got into our evacuation centre with no documentation. Many waited at Kabul Airport at the time, desperate to escape the political turmoil (Picture: AFP via Getty Images) Many people in Afghanistan have witnessed extreme violence under Taliban rule (Picture: AFP via Getty Images) ‘I stayed up all night supervising her sleep in our small office because we were so concerned she was so vulnerable, but she eventually gave us the slip and disappeared back out the gate before we could find a way to help.
‘At one point, I tracked down the mother of a teenage girl who played cricket and was clearly well educated. ‘The mother had deliberately lost her daughter at the airport. She told me full of emotion, “I’m not coming back.
I’ve abandoned my child because I have a target on my back and if she comes back, she is well known because of her cricket. She will never live. ” ‘The interpreter was in tears because you could see this young woman stoically processing the realisation that “Oh my God, I’ve literally been abandoned.
'” The UK has committed £286 million in humanitarian aid which goes towards making sure people in Afghanistan are not abandoned. More: NewsBritish woman dies after riding off edge off cliff on mobility scooterTwin sisters land identical GCSE grades with top marks in nine subjects'Tomato flu' outbreak spreads with more than 80 children infected in India Looking back at the events in Afghanistan, Katrina recalled: ‘Afghanistan is a violent, beautiful, unpredictable country and my job meant you were always planning to leave at quite short notice in the event of an unexpected incident. ‘I look back a year on with mixed emotions.
‘Obviously, I feel proud we got 15,000 people out, and to have achieved that thanks to such an empathetic and professional team with me in Kabul. ‘But I think it’s only natural to also wish I could have done even more because we knew that once we left, anything could happen to those we couldn’t evacuate at the time. ’ Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.
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