LGBTQ+ Afghans left behind say world turned its back on them

LGBTQ+ Afghans left behind say world turned its back on them

LGBTQ+ Afghans said on Friday they felt abandoned by the international community as the closure of Kabul airport to passengers this week shattered their hopes of fleeing Taliban rule.

Many LGBTQ+ people have gone into hiding since the Islamist militia seized power last month, fearing a return to the group’s harsh 1996-2001 rule when it enforced a radical form of sharia, or Islamic law.

“(Foreign governments) should have helped us to get out of here,” one gay student said by phone from Kabul, after trying unsuccessfully to board one of the last evacuation flights out of the country last week.

“Things are becoming more hopeless every day (and) now we have been abandoned,” the student, whose name and age have been withheld to protect his identity, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

He said guards at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which has been out of action this week, turned him back despite having the correct documentation.

The Taliban, which was preparing to announce a new government on Friday, has tried to present a more moderate face since returning to power, promising to protect human rights and refrain from reprisals against old enemies.

But some LGBTQ+ people said they feared for their lives, citing reports of gay men being stoned to death during the Taliban’s last rule.

“My life is in danger,” a gay teacher said by phone from Kabul.

He also tried unsuccessfully to leave in the US-led airlift that evacuated more than 123,000 people from Kabul since the Taliban takeover, but left tens of thousands of vulnerable Afghans behind.

“It could be really dangerous for me and my family as well, because if they find out about my sexual orientation, they’re going to take us into the desert … and kill us by throwing rocks at us or shooting us in the head,” the teacher said.

A Taliban spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The post LGBTQ+ Afghans left behind say world turned its back on them appeared first on GAY TIMES.

LGBTQ+ Afghans left behind say world turned its back on them

LGBTQ+ Afghans said on Friday they felt abandoned by the international community as the closure of Kabul airport to passengers this week shattered their hopes of fleeing Taliban rule.

Many LGBTQ+ people have gone into hiding since the Islamist militia seized power last month, fearing a return to the group’s harsh 1996-2001 rule when it enforced a radical form of sharia, or Islamic law.

“(Foreign governments) should have helped us to get out of here,” one gay student said by phone from Kabul, after trying unsuccessfully to board one of the last evacuation flights out of the country last week.

“Things are becoming more hopeless every day (and) now we have been abandoned,” the student, whose name and age have been withheld to protect his identity, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

He said guards at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which has been out of action this week, turned him back despite having the correct documentation.

The Taliban, which was preparing to announce a new government on Friday, has tried to present a more moderate face since returning to power, promising to protect human rights and refrain from reprisals against old enemies.

But some LGBTQ+ people said they feared for their lives, citing reports of gay men being stoned to death during the Taliban’s last rule.

“My life is in danger,” a gay teacher said by phone from Kabul.

He also tried unsuccessfully to leave in the US-led airlift that evacuated more than 123,000 people from Kabul since the Taliban takeover, but left tens of thousands of vulnerable Afghans behind.

“It could be really dangerous for me and my family as well, because if they find out about my sexual orientation, they’re going to take us into the desert … and kill us by throwing rocks at us or shooting us in the head,” the teacher said.

A Taliban spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The post LGBTQ+ Afghans left behind say world turned its back on them appeared first on GAY TIMES.