Afghan man calls for Japanese government’s help to leave Kabul with family

Osaka – An Afghan man working for a Japanese company in Kabul has called on the government in Tokyo to help evacuate him and his family from Kabul, which has now come under Taliban control.

“I just want to protect the life of my family and children. Nothing more,” the man in his 30s, who declined to be named, told Kyodo News on Saturday in an online interview. He has been involved in Japan’s official development assistance projects since 2004.

“Nobody from the Japanese government is giving me any guidance,” he said.

The man has been working for a Japanese company, supplying medical equipment to hospitals and security equipment to airports in Afghanistan as part of the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s project.

According to the man and spokesperson of the company, the Japanese government has put him on a list of people eligible for its evacuation mission, but the Japanese Foreign Ministry did not allow him to bring his wife and three children with him.

The Japanese government has expanded its evacuation mission to include personnel who work for nongovernmental organizations and those who were involved in the government’s development aid projects, in addition to Japanese nationals, local staff of the Japanese Embassy and JICA as well as their families.

The spokesperson of the company told Kyodo News, “We think it’s against the idea of humanitarian assistance to leave the man, who has sincerely worked for Japan for many years, and his family behind.”

As the United States has set the deadline for withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan on Tuesday, the man is hoping to escape from Kabul as soon as possible as tensions continue to grow in the capital.

The man also said he fears that the Taliban militants may target those who have worked for foreign agencies or companies.

Japan has so far airlifted several people from Afghanistan aboard Self-Defense Forces aircraft to neighboring Pakistan as part of the evacuation mission.