Fearful US residents in Afghanistan hiding out from Taliban

By BERNARD CONDON and JULIE WATSON

Every nighttime successful yet different location successful Afghanistan’s capital, a U.S. greenish card-holding mates from California instrumentality turns sleeping, with 1 ever awake to ticker implicit their 3 young children truthful they tin fly if they perceive the footsteps of the Taliban.

They’ve moved 7 times successful 2 weeks, relying connected relatives to instrumentality them successful and provender them. Their days are an uncomfortable premix of fearfulness and boredom, restricted to a mates of rooms wherever they read, ticker TV and play “The Telephone Game” successful which they susurration secrets and walk them on, a diversion for the children that has the added payment of keeping them quiet.

All of it goes connected during the agonizing hold for a telephone from anybody who tin assistance them get out. A U.S. State Department authoritative contacted them respective days agone to archer them they were being assigned a lawsuit worker, but they haven’t heard a connection since. They tried and failed to get connected a formation and present are talking to an planetary rescue organization.

“We are frightened and support hiding ourselves much and more,” the parent said successful a substance connection to The Associated Press. “Whenever we consciousness breathless, I pray.”

Through messages, emails and telephone conversations with loved ones and rescue groups, AP has pieced unneurotic what day-to-day beingness has been similar for immoderate of those near down aft the U.S. military’s chaotic withdrawal — that includes U.S. citizens, imperishable U.S. nonmigratory green-card holders and visa applicants who aided U.S. troops during the 20-year war.

Those contacted by AP — who are not being identified for their ain information — described a fearful, furtive beingness of hiding successful houses for weeks, keeping the lights disconnected astatine night, moving from spot to place, and donning baggy covering and burqas to debar detection if they perfectly indispensable task out.

All accidental they are frightened the ruling Taliban volition find them, propulsion them successful jail, possibly adjacent termination them due to the fact that they are Americans oregon had worked for the U.S. government. And they are acrophobic that the Biden administration’s promised efforts to get them retired person stalled.

When the telephone rang successful an flat successful Kabul a fewer weeks ago, the U.S. greenish paper holder who answered — a motortruck operator from Texas visiting household — was hopeful it was the U.S. State Department yet responding to his pleas to get him and his parents connected a formation out.

Instead, it was the Taliban.

“We won’t wounded you. Let’s meet. Nothing volition happen,” the caller said, according to the motortruck driver’s brother, who lives with him successful Texas and spoke to him afterwards. The telephone included a fewer ominous words: “We cognize wherever you are.”

That was capable to nonstop the antheral fleeing from the Kabul flat wherever helium had been staying with his mother, his 2 teenage brothers and his father, who was successful peculiar information due to the fact that helium had worked for years for a U.S. contractor overseeing information guards.

“They are hopeless,” said the member successful Texas. “They think, ’We’re stuck successful the flat and nary 1 is present to assistance us.’ They’ve been near behind.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress this past week that the authorities does not way U.S. imperishable residents with greenish cards successful Afghanistan but helium estimates respective 1000 stay successful the country, on with astir 100 U.S. citizens. He promised the U.S. authorities was moving to get them out.

As of Tuesday, 36 American citizens had been evacuated and 24 greenish paper holders since the U.S. subject near past month, according to the State Department. More were flown retired of Kabul connected Friday and perchance a formation from Mazar-e-Sharif, but the medication did not merchandise immoderate figures.

Neither the U.S. nor the Taliban person offered a wide mentation wherefore truthful fewer person been evacuated.

That is hardly encouraging to different greenish paper holder from Texas, a grandma who precocious watched from a rooftop arsenic militants pulled up successful a half-dozen constabulary cars and Humvees to instrumentality implicit the location crossed the street.

“The Taliban. The Taliban,” she whispered into the telephone to her American lad successful a Dallas suburb, a speech the pistillate recounted to the AP. “The women and kids are screaming. They’re dragging the men to the cars.”

She and her husband, who came to Kabul respective months agone to sojourn relatives, are present terrified that the Taliban volition not lone uncover their American ties but those of their lad backmost successful Texas, who had worked for a U.S. subject contractor for years.

Her son, who is besides not being named, says helium called U.S. embassy officials successful Kabul respective times earlier it unopen down, filled retired each the indispensable paperwork, and adjacent enlisted the assistance of a veteran’s radical and members of Congress.

He doesn’t cognize what much helium tin do.

“What volition we bash if they sound connected the door?” the 57-year-old parent asked connected 1 of her regular calls. “What volition we do?”

“Nothing is going to happen,” replied the son.

Asked successful a caller interrogation if helium believed that, the lad changeable back, exasperated, “What other americium I expected to archer her?”

The Taliban authorities has promised to fto Americans and Afghans with due question documents permission the state and to not retaliate against those who helped the United States. But U.N. quality rights main Michelle Bachelet said determination is grounds they are not keeping their word. She warned Monday that the state had entered a “new and perilous phase,” and cited credible reports of reprisal killings of Afghan subject members and allegations of the Taliban hunting house-to-house for erstwhile authorities officials and radical who cooperated with U.S. subject and U.S. companies.

AP reporters successful Afghanistan are not alert of immoderate U.S. citizens oregon greenish paper holders being picked up oregon arrested by the Taliban. But they person confirmed that respective Afghans who worked for the erstwhile authorities and subject were taken successful for questioning precocious and released.

The California family, which includes a 9-year-old miss and 2 boys, ages 8 and 6, accidental they person been connected the tally for the past 2 weeks aft the Taliban knocked connected the doorway of their relative’s flat asking astir the Americans staying there.

The household moved to Sacramento 4 years agone aft the parent got a peculiar migrant visa due to the fact that she worked for U.S.-funded projects successful Kabul promoting women’s rights. Now, the parent says some she and her girl person been wearing burqas each clip they determination to their adjacent “prison-home.”

The father, who worked arsenic an Uber driver, has been having panic attacks arsenic they hold for help.

“I don’t spot the U.S. authorities stepping successful and getting them retired anytime soon,” said the children’s simple schoolhouse principal, Nate McGill, who has been exchanging regular texts with the family.

Distraction has go the mother’s go-to instrumentality to shield her children from the stress. She quizzes them connected what they privation to bash erstwhile they get backmost to California and what they privation to beryllium erstwhile they turn up.

Their girl hopes to go a doc someday, portion their sons accidental they privation to go teachers.

But distraction is not ever enough. After a comparative told the girl that the Taliban were taking distant tiny girls, she hid successful a country and refused to travel retired until her dada puffed himself up and said helium could bushed the Taliban, making her laugh.

The parent smiled, hiding her fearfulness from her daughter, but aboriginal texted her principal.

“This beingness is astir half-death.”

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Condon reported from New York, Watson from San Diego. Kathy Gannon successful Kabul and Ellen Knickmeyer successful Washington contributed to this report.