A FERMANAGH resident caught up in the ongoing turmoil in Afghanistan has told The Impartial Reporter of his experiences, and how he fled with just “the clothes on his back”.

Now safely home, ‘Sean’ – real name and identity known to this paper – discussed his chilling experiences as the country’s order all but collapsed immediately prior to his safe departure.

Afghanistan, and particularly the capital, Kabul, has been thrown into turmoil with the swift withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, following decades of a presence in the country.

Following an agreement negotiated under the previous Donald Trump U.S. administration in February, 2020, which initially pencilled in a May 1, 2021 withdrawal date for American troops, the exit date was pushed back until August 31.

With the impending withdrawal, the Taliban – Afghanistan’s Islamist religious-political movement and military organisation – seized the moment and from the start of August began taking over provinces, entering the country’s capital, Kabul, in just nine days, shocking the world.

Since then, other countries which have had a presence in the country have been working relentlessly to extract their citizens and as many Afghanis as possible who helped them in the last 20 years.

As one of tens of thousands of people caught up in the swift collapse of order, Sean – who has worked as a security contractor in Afghanistan for the past seven years – described how changing intelligence reports meant he left the country with just what he was wearing.

After returning home last Friday, Sean explained that while many people knew what was happening, they did not expect it all to happen so fast.

Talking to The Impartial Reporter, Sean said: “It was a bit of a crazy time. It was that fast that we basically, on my contract, we were called into an office and told to pack our bags because ‘It’s more than likely that the Taliban will come into Kabul within the next seven to 14 days’.

“[After that day] we were then brought into the office and told that ‘Seven to 14 days is now probably seven days, realistically, so make sure you’ve got a bag packed’.

“And then, after that, we got called into an office again 24 hours later and we were told, ‘Listen, the helicopters will be with us in two hours, so grab your bag’,” said Sean, underscoring the startling speed with which people were attempting to leave.

The security contractor was based in the PD10 police district, close to Pul-e-Charkhi Prison, the largest in the country, by one of the main routes into Kabul. And it was not long after the evacuation that the Taliban were rummaging through whatever was left behind.

Sean said: “We didn’t see them at the time, but we were told that we left about six o’clock in the evening on helicopters, and the Taliban were in our camp the next morning.

“So it’s a bit crazy – I came home with [just] the clothes on my back.”

Sean added that during the 24 hours before leaving, they burned as much sensitive information and property as possible, but knows that there will be some equipment that the Taliban will gather from the quick departure of security contractors and foreign troops.

He personally does not think they should have left.

There has been progress in Afghanistan in the 20 years since the Taliban were previously overthrown, which Sean has seen first-hand while over there, such as the rights and freedoms of women and girls improving, and the money pumped into the country by foreign governments.

Sean said: “I think that proves that we were doing some good. I do think it was worth it. They’ve had a good 20 years. You know there is still poverty there, but you drive around the city and it’s vibrant.

“It’s very worrying what it may go back to. Now, I can’t see the future but, you know, have they [the Taliban] changed? They may have done. In my personal opinion, it’s very unlikely, from the reports we’re getting.”

The UN has reported the Taliban has carried out summary executions as well as human rights violations against women and girls since taking over.

Sean fears that the sudden withdrawal will return Afghanistan to a breeding ground for terrorism, and believes the coming months will show the direction the country will head in.

However, the more pressing immediate matter is the current, chaotic evacuation process, which has until August 31 to conclude a deadline reinforced by Taliban threats.

What lies ahead for Afghanistan after the end of the month, Sean is not sure.

He told this newspaper: “You will not know the full extent for a couple of months at least. But I think these next few days are important, because we’ll see what kind of situation we’re in on August 31.

“The Taliban have said ‘You’ve got until the end of the month to extract everybody’, which is not easy.”