American University of Afghanistan Students Told ‘There Is No Evacuation’ and That Their Names Were Given to the Taliban
Mediaite ^ | Aug 29th, 2021 | Katherine Huggins
Posted on 8/30/2021, 4:20:51 AM by
Hundreds of students and alumni of the American University of Afghanistan were told “there will be no more rescue flights” on Sunday, prompting many to go into hiding.
Students were further alarmed upon learning that the U.S. military had given a list of their names and passport information to Taliban officials guarding the airport in Kabul, according to a report from the New York Times.
“They told us: we have given your names to the Taliban,” a 24-year-old sophomore studying business administration told the Times. “We are all terrified, there is no evacuation, there is no getting out.”
About 600 students and alumni had gathered at a safehouse on Sunday to gather before attempting to flee the country. However, upon arriving at the airport, they were turned away due to evacuation flights ending as the U.S. focuses on removing its personnel ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline.
“I regret to inform you that the high command at HKIA in the airport has announced there will be no more rescue flights,” an email shared with the Times from the university administration read.
The university was founded in 2006 and has since expanded to have a student body of about 1,700 full and part-time students from all 34 provinces of Afghanistan.
The university has been a target of the Taliban for several years. In August 2016, the Taliban launched an attack on the campus, killing 15 people, seven of whom were students. Earlier that month, an American and Australian professor working at the university were kidnapped and remained in captivity until 2019 when they were released in exchange for three Taliban prisoners.
According to the Times, on Aug. 15 —when the Taliban took over Kabul — the group posted a photo of them standing at the entrance of a university building, saying they were “where America trained infidel ‘wolves’ to corrupt the minds of Muslims.”
Ian Bickford, the president of the university, who fled Afghanistan two weeks ago, said the deadly attack at Kabul’s airport had complicated the campus evacuation efforts.
Bickford added that students will be able to finish their degrees remotely.
The students and alumni told the Times that they had “struggled emotionally” in recent days “as their status changed from college students to fugitives overnight.”
