Afghanistan, gen. Iasson: “20 years here have not been useless, restore dignity to these people”

“I opened the embassy in Afghanistan, with the start of the ISAF mission in 2001, I raised the Italian flag, and I was so sorry to see it close. I left a piece of my heart there, but seeing the smile of the thousands of people, hundreds of families, whom we have rescued in these days, gives us strength, because the work of the Carabinieri is to be among the people and help. It is an experience that has marked me but in my head Afghanistan will not abandon it, we are always ready for any mission they ask us to carry out ”. Thus General Stefano Iasson, Commander of the Carabinieri Mobile Brigade, in an interview with Adnkronos, takes stock of the activity carried out in Afghanistan in twenty years and comments on the last days of the evacuation of Afghan civilians. “We were the first to arrive in Afghanistan, I for Tuscania, then there was Ambassador Domenico Giorgi and Colonel Battisti, head of the mission for the Army. It is sad to see the embassy closed but the risks are too high, as we have seen, an attack can take place in Afghanistan at any moment ”, underlines. General Iasson remembers everything from the first days of 2001 in Afghanistan. “We celebrated there on December 31st, we were very few, and after a month we were all in action. We started by garrisoning the base together with the British, Tuscania also took care of the ambassador’s protection “. Then the training activity began. “We started by training the bodyguards of the ministers, to move on to the training of the Afghan police, a task that we have done until recently”. “Seeing the breakdown of the Afghan army struck me, but we trained the policemen, and I must say that I have always found trained and motivated people, who unfortunately are also dead, from the policeman to the commander. Some problems arose when they did not receive wages, but then, even with our mediation, they were paid and everything was back in place ”continues Iasson. “What I like to remember is that in Herat we trained the first Afghan policewomen, from there they created a sort of section of policewomen who could search the women.” There have also been victims among the carabinieri in these 20 years in Afghanistan. Iasson remembers the carabiniere Manuele Braj, who died in a terrorist attack) and Cristiano Congiu, who was killed in a firefight, as well as the Arma soldiers who were injured. The general is not going to have to hear someone say that these 20 years in Afghanistan have been useless. “We have given dignity to these people” he stresses. But above all there is the activity carried out in recent days to rescue civilians. “Tuscania has been able to operate with professionalism and humanity, they left the airport in the midst of these crowds of people and managed to save hundreds of families, we were the nation that brought back as many people as possible, almost 5 thousand,” he recalls. And, in the face of an expanse of hundreds of thousands of people crowding outside the airport, a precious help also came from technology. “We got in touch via Whatsapp with the people we had to retrieve and then we made them share the position on Google Maps – he explains – I myself ‘piloted’ live on the phone, passing through the captain of Tuscania, a family that had collaborated with us and who is now safe in Italy. I told them to reach a certain point where we recovered them ”. Among the beautiful things to remember for General Iasson there are certainly the many smiles of the rescued Afghans, “to see their joy, the life that resumes. And then there are all the activities carried out in Afghanistan, I had wonderful relationships, even of friendship, with the Afghan authorities, from the simple policeman to the general, their families invited us to dinner, just like we do. And many of them died in terrorist attacks. ”Sadness for having to leave Afghanistan, but no regrets for what has been done, and above all always ready to return to the field. “Unfortunately we had to leave when there was still a lot to do, but let’s not be discouraged, the Tuscania, (whose last carabinieri returned yesterday, ed) is always ready for any mission that may be necessary, wherever the Italian state will ask to go. We – he concludes – are always ready ”. (by Daniele Dell’Aglio)