Afghans arrived in Paris: “These people were threatened by the Taliban because of their professions and positions”

“OFII agents welcome the first arrivals from#Afghanistan after the fall of #Kabul. In this first flight: 110 adults and 76 children. ”The message was posted on the Twitter account of the French Office for Immigration and Integration (Ofii), the structure responsible for ensuring the care of asylum seekers and refugees on French soil.

An Air Force plane landed on Wednesday August 18 on the tarmac of the Parisian airport of Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle. On board were 184 Afghan civilians. All were urgently evacuated after the fall of Kabul, which fell to the Taliban.

This is the second arrival of a plane in Paris since the establishment by the government of an airlift to evacuate French and Afghans from the country. A first plane, Monday August 16, had already landed. It mainly carried French nationals.

“Another flight, which passes through Abu Dhabi, should land this evening [jeudi 19 août] at 9 p.m. ”, specifies Didier Leschi, the director general of Ofii, contacted by InfoMigrants, without giving details of the total number of Afghans who will be on board.

Placed in quarantine then directed to accommodation

In total, since the start of the Taliban offensive, nearly 800 Afghans have been evacuated to France. “Between March and July, we have already brought in 624 Afghans. People who had mainly worked alongside the French army,” explains Didier Leschi.

The profiles of the people who will arrive today are different. “They are doctors, artists, people from the world of culture. People who by their professions, their actions, their positions were targeted by the Taliban.”

All will be placed in quarantine in hotels in Hauts-de-Seine, in the Paris region. “Secondly, they will be directed to long-term reception facilities,” said Didier Leschi. From there, their administrative process of applying for asylum will begin. “They will have to follow the usual, albeit accelerated, procedure: pass in front of the Single Window [s’enregistrer à la préfecture, NDLR] then in front of Ofpra. ”They will also be entitled to the allowance for asylum seekers (ADA).

“Older Afghans, who never thought of coming to France”

Each time you arrive at Paris airport, Ofii, France Terre Asile, translators and interpreters are on hand to help and guide people. “They are disoriented people, obviously. They are shocked by the situation in their country. These are people who had never thought of leaving, who were established professionally,” said Didier Leschi.

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They do not have the “usual profile” of Afghan asylum seekers who have arrived in France in recent months and years – and who can be found on the northern coast of France, towards Calais and Grande-Synthe. “They are older. They do not come from the same social class. They did not organize their coming, since they had never thought of coming here”, describes the director general of Ofii. “They left everything in a hurry.”

Evacuations all over Europe

Internationally, emergency evacuations are also increasing. The United Kingdom has been able to welcome 306 Britons and 2,052 Afghans, “in complete safety”, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday.

Germany has already evacuated 500 people, according to the Foreign Ministry. Spain, for its part, has initiated a first series of rotations with three military planes. A group of more than 50 Spaniards and Afghan collaborators, en route from Kabul via Dubai, is due to arrive in Spain on Thursday, according to the government.

In Italy, 86 people landed in Rome on Wednesday, aboard a military plane: Italians, Afghans and their families, as well as NATO and European Union personnel, according to the Foreign Ministry. Some 200 more people were expected on the peninsula.

In addition, 84 people, mainly Afghans, flew Wednesday from Kabul to Copenhagen, announced the Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Fredriksen.

The US military has already evacuated more than 3,200 people, including US personnel, using military planes. In addition, nearly 2,000 Afghan exiles have been transported to the United States. The country plans to evacuate more than 30,000 people via their bases in Kuwait and Qatar.