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An Afghan employee of an Italian charity made two attempts to enter the chaotic airport in Kabul, in order to secure the promised seat on an evacuation flight. The crush was too strong, and on her second attempt, she feared she would die in the stampede. Attracting the attention of Western troops, regardless of being believed by them, was impossible.
Amina, who asked to use a pseudonym for her own protection, wanted to give up and stay behind, despite the threat posed by the Taliban regime against anyone, especially women, who had worked with Western organizations.
Then his charity, Nove Onlus, came up with a system: They created a WhatsApp group administered by an Afghan in a safe country to share instructions and information about Taliban checkpoints. Each member was geolocated and identified as they approached the airport.
All they needed was some sort of password: Flash a red handkerchief tied around the wrist to alerted Italian soldiers who floundered through the crowd to snatch them.
Such simple and punctual signals have saved hundreds of Afghan workers who have worked with Western organizations and are trying to flee the country with their families, but who did not have time to organize formal paperwork.
Another Italian NGO, Pangea, asked its employees to write a P on the palms of their hands as a sign of agreement addressed to the Italian military.
“When I saw the Italian army, I climbed on a pole and raised my arm with this red scarf and also with the Italian flag in my hand,” Amina said. It worked.
She was among a group of 150 Afghan women and their families who landed in Rome on an evacuation flight early Tuesday. Pangea has taken 30 activists and more than 200 family members to safety, some of whom arrived in Italy on Monday.
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