Afghanistan: Trapped Nottingham family reach Dubai

  • Published
US troops at Kabul airportImage source, PA Media
Image caption,

US and UK troops have been sent to the airport to oversee evacuations

A Nottinghamshire family who were trapped in Afghanistan have been flown out of Kabul on a military plane.

The mother, older daughter and two children, aged five and nine, had been in the country caring for sick relatives as Kabul fell.

Despite having correct documents they said the Taliban stopped them leaving.

The children's head teacher said they had seen "horror and violence" at the airport but had now flown to Dubai and were due in the UK within hours.

Image caption,

The family's father - Raghib - said he spent a week trying to help those trapped

The family - who are not being named for security reasons - had been looking after relatives with coronavirus.

Speaking last week, the children's father Raghib - who remained in Nottinghamshire with other children - said they had been "so worried" about the rest of the family.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

The head teacher said the family saw "horror and violence" while stuck on the road near the airport

Mellers Primary School head teacher Amanda Dawson said: "I've just had a message from the elder daughter that they have landed in Dubai, which is wonderful."

Ms Dawson said she was alerted to the problem by another teacher.

"But I don't know what happened, something kicks in and I thought, 'I have to do something about this'.

"There's no handbook for teachers and what to do if you have a family trapped in a warzone - I just followed my instincts."

She said she contacted the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Nottingham South MP Lilian Greenwood, who together sorted out the paperwork.

"Their situation was absolutely desperate, I think for two nights I didn't sleep," said Ms Dawson

"You have seen the images of the corral outside the airport - they were there for 32 hours, the kids slept overnight on the road.

"They were surrounded by that horror and violence and saw an uncle assaulted by the Taliban."

On Friday it was confirmed they had reach a British army-controlled safe house at the airport.

Ms Dawson said there were now fears though the extended family - who held senior positions in the government - were now in danger and efforts were being made to bring them out.

Are you in Afghanistan and affected by this? Please tell us your story by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, external.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk, external. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, external, on Twitter, external, or on Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk, external.

Related topics

Related internet links

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.