Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the Government has identified 53 New Zealanders who are stranded in Afghanistan after the fall of the government to Taliban forces overnight.
On the day Kabul fell, former interpreters for the NZ Defence Force gathered in Hamilton to speak of family and their efforts to get them out of Afghanistan.
For the past handful of years, they had filled in forms and submitted them to bureaucracy, seeking refugee slots. The wheels turnedslowly, even for those applications approved. When the situation grew worse this year, they met to plan and push for faster action.
The Taliban advanced faster than any anticipated, certainly faster than the possibility of finding refugee slots for parents, siblings and wider whānau.
Those who had already made their escape to build a life in New Zealand were "just sitting, quietly looking at each other", says Raza Khadim. There wasn't anything to be said.
Former interpreter for NZDF Raza Khadim. Photo / Terry Su
"We thought we would have a bit of time. We realise it's too late now. I don't know what to do," Khadim told the Herald. "It's really bad. We haven't slept for the past few days. Some of us can't even believe what has happened."
Since 2012, 44 former interpreters and employees have resettled in New Zealand, bringing with them 96 immediate family members. Many other applications for immigration or refugee entry were waiting.
Three days ago the Taliban took Herat, Afghanistan's third-largest city. Khadim had thought there was no chance of that. Then Mazar-i-Sharif in the north fell yesterday.
For those gathered in Hamilton, where many of the interpreters now live, Bamiyan was home. It has long stood against the Taliban and suffered terrible atrocities in the past. On Sunday night, as they gathered, they heard from their other home how the Taliban had returned.
Yesterday, Khadim hit the phones. He rang the office of the Foreign Minister, rang local MPs. "I said it was super urgent. It's a matter of life or death."
Former Afghans who worked for NZDF as interpreters now living in Hamilton - Sayed Hussaini (left), Mohammad Frotan, Parwiz Hakim and Raza Khadim. Photo / Mike Scott
Really, though, he knows that Bamiyan is a long drive from Afghanistan's only remaining international airport in Kabul. He also knows the Taliban will have checkpoints on the two roads out of Bamiyan, and will question everyone about why they are leaving. It's not a gauntlet that can be safely run.
For him, a brother and sister are at risk. Collectively, Khadim counts about 200 adults and 200 children who have connections to interpreters now living in New Zealand.
"It used to be 'if' they find out they are family of NZDF interpreters. It's now 'when' they find out." When the Taliban start going door-to-door and asking questions, those staring into the barrel of a rifle will always point the finger.
"What was it about? To rebuild Afghanistan. To take it out of the misery. In a matter of days, it just went back to what it was. I don't know why people spent 20 years and billions and trillions of dollars and all of that gone in days."
Khadim says the application for his siblings was accepted in 2019. "It's a really slow process." Now, they are an impossible distance away.
An NZDF patrol in Bamiyan province, Afghanistan. Photo / Supplied
"We were too comfortable with the situation in Afghanistan. We thought it was going to stay that way for the next few years."
Khadim was keeping pace with the Prime Minister's announcement of a rescue mission by NZDF. For those outside Kabul, he's not hopeful.
