Eleven days at Kabul airport: “I will never forget that in my life”

Saturday 23 October 2021

Eleven days at Kabul Airport
“I will not forget that in my life”

When Kabul falls into the hands of the Taliban on August 15 and chaos breaks out at Hamid Karzai International Airport, a German civilian voluntarily stayed on site. He supports the German Embassy, ​​the Bundeswehr and the US Marines with the evacuation measures. Because while the staff of embassies, aid organizations and the military has been replaced every few months in the past twenty years, there was one constant in Afghanistan: Christoph Klawitter.

The logistics expert shipped everything that was needed on site for Germans and Americans, from armored vehicles to the transport of 300 pairs of shoes for an embassy employee. The 47-year-old from Hamburg speaks the national language Dari fluently, he sat at the table with warlords and negotiated with corrupt ministers. Western intelligence services and German ministries rely on his assessment, because there are probably few people who know more about Afghanistan – and above all: who can paint a more realistic picture of the situation on the ground.

ntv.de: How did you experience the fall of Kabul on August 15th?

Christoph Klawitter: The Taliban had already been standing in front of the city a few days earlier, and I had talked about this with German contacts in Kabul. The morning of August 15th started off relatively calmly, but around noon people started storming the banks to save their savings. After consulting the German embassy, ​​I drove from my camp to the airport. To be evacuated, actually. But then I got in touch with the deputy ambassador in order to help with the coordination on site with my contacts, experience and language skills.

How exactly did your support look like?

In the first few days, the local military simply had no translators for the national languages. So I translated for the German Armed Forces, the US Marines as well as the French, Italian and Spanish military on site and checked who was allowed to go on the premises and who was not. I ran through the crowd outside the gates trying to find those who were actually eligible to be evacuated. And above all: who could also identify themselves. As soon as I had a group of people together, I handed them over to the soldiers at the locks and they were then allowed to pass. I stayed at the airport for a total of eleven days.

Who were the people at the airport?

Unfortunately, you have to put it this way: For the most part, it was opportunists who wanted to use the evacuation for a quick ticket to a better life. People kept telling me that the western governments had given assurances that all Afghans could come with them. That was of course not true. But the onslaught of opportunists has meant that those really in need of protection have not all made it through the gates. I estimate there were up to 4,000 people at each gate every day, including ex-politicians, parliamentarians and ministers. Ex-military and ex-secret service agents were also there.

What do you remember most from that time?

Two dead children were held in my arms, a completely dried up baby – it was 37 degrees in the shade and there was hardly any water – and a crushed toddler. There was unimaginable suffering at the gates. Many people were seriously injured by the NATO barbed wire, and there were broken bones from the crowd. The background noise and the smell of these days will probably be with me forever. The attack on Abbey Gate, where I spent hours every day, also hit me hard. I will never forget all of this in my life.

How did you experience the cooperation between the German embassy and the Federal Foreign Office?

It seemed that Berlin did not always understand the situation in Kabul.

Should the Federal Intelligence Service and the Foreign Office have been better prepared for the situation in Afghanistan?

We all knew on the ground that it would only be a matter of time before Kabul fell into the hands of the Taliban. And I assume that this assessment was also communicated to Berlin. The disaster began with the flight of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, which took everyone by surprise and which led to the rapid collapse of the government. From my point of view, the escape could not be justified with an actual threat situation. The Taliban never threatened to slaughter everyone. It is likely that Ghani’s close advisers in particular would have been brought to justice by the Taliban for corruption, and there would probably have been an amnesty for himself. And at this point I would like to emphasize that these people should have been rightly called to account for corruption. They have enriched themselves immeasurably in recent years at the expense of the NATO member states. I’ve seen their palaces with my own eyes – also from the inside. Ghani himself is said to have taken $ 168 million in cash with him on his escape. Two former ministers have just been spotted in a luxury car in City of London.

Could Ashraf Ghani have prevented the chaos?

In any case. I would even go so far as to say: He created the chaos on purpose. At the moment when talks between the Taliban and the United States began under Trump’s leadership and without the involvement of the Afghan government, the mood in Kabul turned abruptly: Ghani’s government was of course not at all pleased, they felt sold by the Americans. I think Ghani thought to himself: See how you deal with it on your own now.

Why did you actually live in Afghanistan for twenty years?

I set up the logistical setup of the camps for the NATO member states, for example, importing armored vehicles, bringing food into the country, coordinating the relocations of employees for embassy staff and bringing goods into the country for aid organizations – cooking oil, rice, beans and lentils. But also books for schools. Finally, I was supposed to set up a security system for the city of Kabul with 1100 cameras. However, the project was not ended. The Taliban have sealed the camp with the equipment and posted guards to prevent the equipment from being stolen. I was very surprised. If everything goes well, as you announced, I can pick up the things at some point.

How did you get back to Germany and what is the future for your employees?

I was flown out of the last plane with the Bundeswehr Special Forces Command and the German embassy staff. I had to leave most of my Afghan employees behind and I am in daily contact with them. The economic situation is worsening every day. The security situation is described by my employees as better than before.

Will you return?

After so many years it is difficult to come to terms with the idea of ​​never going to Afghanistan again. I will certainly return.

Liv von Boetticher spoke to Christoph Klawitter