Two men in Kabul in July. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Ahmad Qais Munhazim)
The last American troops have withdrawn from Afghanistan amid continued efforts to evacuate LGBTQ people from the country.
Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command told reporters Aug. 30 the last American C-17 left Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, the Afghan capital, at 3:29 p.m. ET (11:59 p.m. in Afghanistan.)
“Tonight’s withdrawal signifies both the end of the military component of the evacuation but also the end of the nearly 20-year mission that began in Afghanistan shortly after September 11, 2001,” said McKenzie.
The previous White House in 2020 brokered a peace deal with the Taliban that set the stage for the withdrawal. President Joe Biden last month announced American military operations in Afghanistan would end on Aug. 31.
The Taliban entered Kabul on Aug. 15 and toppled then-President Ashraf Ghani’s government.
McKenzie and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Aug. 30 noted the U.S. evacuated more than 123,000 people — including 6,000 American citizens — from Afghanistan since the Taliban regained control of the country.
“This has been a massive military, diplomatic and humanitarian undertaking — one of the most difficult in our nation’s history — and an extraordinary feat of logistics and coordination under some of the most challenging circumstances imaginable,” said Blinken in remarks he delivered from the State Department.
Blinken acknowledged “a small number of Americans — under 200 and likely closer to 100 — who remain in Afghanistan and want to leave.” Blinken in his remarks did not specifically mention LGBTQ Afghans who remain in the country, but he did refer to “at-risk Afghans” when he referenced the Taliban’s commitment “to let anyone with proper documents leave the country in a safe and orderly manner.”
“We are all committed to ensuring that our citizens, nationals and residents, employees, Afghans who have worked with us and those who are at risk can continue to travel freely to destinations outside Afghanistan,” reads a statement the U.S. and more than 100 other countries signed Aug. 29. “We have received assurances from the Taliban that all foreign nationals and any Afghan citizen with travel authorization from our countries will be allowed to proceed in a safe and orderly manner to points of departure and travel outside the country.
“We will continue issuing travel documentation to designated Afghans, and we have the clear expectation of and commitment from the Taliban that they can travel to our respective countries,” adds the statement. “We note the public statements of the Taliban confirming this understanding.”
Blinken in his remarks noted the U.N. Security Council on Aug. 30 “passed a resolution that enshrines that responsibility — laying the groundwork to hold the Taliban accountable if they renege.”
“The international chorus on this is strong, and it will stay strong,” said Blinken. “We will hold the Taliban to their commitment on freedom of movement for foreign nationals, visa holders, at-risk Afghans.”
“We will work to secure their safe passage,” added Blinken.
Taliban “will kill us one by one”
The Taliban instituted a strict version of Sharia law in Kabul and the large swaths of Afghanistan it controlled from 1996 to 2001.
Dr. Ahmad Qais Munhazim, an assistant professor of global studies at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia who is originally from Afghanistan, in an op-ed the Washington Blade published earlier this month wrote the Taliban hanged men in soccer fields who had been accused of having same-sex relationships.
A Taliban judge last month said the group would once again execute people if it were to return to power in Afghanistan. One LGBTQ Afghan who commented under a Facebook post said the Taliban “will kill us one by one, so I have no choice but to escape.”
More than 60 members of Congress last week urged the U.S. to evacuate LGBTQ Afghans from their country. Canada thus far is the only country that has specifically said it would offer refuge to LGBTQ Afghans.
“With the Taliban’s takeover of the country, LGBTQ+ Afghans face the prospect of violent death. Sharia law, cemented in Afghanistan’s constitution, prohibits all forms of same-sex activity, and makes same-sex activity punishable by death,” reads the letter the members of Congress sent to Blinken. “Just as it was for ISIS in Iraq, Sharia law is the Taliban’s guiding compass as it establishes its rule over Afghanistan’s government and society. During its campaign in Iraq and Syria, ISIS frequently executed LGBTQ+ individuals by stoning them to death, castrating and hanging them in public squares, and throwing them off buildings.”
“Under Taliban rule, LGBTQ+ Afghans will suffer a similar fate,” it adds.
Nick Herbert, a member of the British House of Lords who advises Prime Minister Boris Johnson on LGBTQ issues, urged the U.K. to offer sanctuary to LGBTQ Afghans.
“The safety of LGBT+ people in Afghanistan is now a huge concern and many have not been able to leave,” tweeted Herbert on Aug. 27. “Afghans most in need, including LGBT+ people, will rightly be prioritized and welcomed to the UK under the Resettlement Scheme. We must do everything we can to help them.”
The safety of LGBT+ people in Afghanistan is now a huge concern and many have not been able to leave. Afghans most in need, including LGBT+ people, will rightly be prioritised and welcomed to the UK under the Resettlement Scheme. We must do everything we can to help them.
— Nick Herbert (@nickherbertcbe) August 27, 2021
Rainbow Railroad, a Toronto-based organization that assists LGBTQ refugees around the world, on Aug. 30 said it remains in contact with LGBTQ Afghans who hope to leave their country. Stonewall, a British LGBTQ rights group, tweeted it “won’t stop working to get LGBTQ+ Afghans to safety.”
Rainbow Railroad continues to liaise with #LGBTQI people on the ground in #Afghanistan. @KimahliPowell updated @CBCToronto and @chrisgloverCBC on our efforts to find safety for people caught in this conflict. https://t.co/ewP818TZYD
— Rainbow Railroad (@RainbowRailroad) August 30, 2021
