As the United States Air Force C-17A transport plane was taxiing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, in August 2021, hundreds of people were seen running alongside it. Some clung to the aircraft, right below the wing, in a desperate attempt to escape the country.
At least two people reportedly fell from the undercarriage shortly after the aircraft took off. One of the victims was identified as Zaki Anwari, a player for Afghanistan's national youth football team. Three more people were found dead in the aftermath, and their deaths were reportedly linked to the stampede.
The visuals from that tragic day in Afghanistan are etched in the memories of people who witnessed them firsthand. But a reference to "The Last Plane Out Of Kabul" was recently used as a punchline in Best of the Best, starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.
Written by Hasan Minhaj and Prashanth Venkataramanujam, the Netflix show is facing backlash online over what many have described as a tone-deaf joke.
The Last Plane Out Of Kabul
From 2001 to 2021, Afghanistan was a battlefield. Bombings, curfews, and neighbourhoods turning to dust were the norm for two decades.
As the war came to an end and the Taliban took control of Kabul, the United States and its allies decided to evacuate foreign nationals and at-risk Afghan citizens.
Once the Taliban took over, it seized border crossings, leaving Kabul Airport as the country's only viable exit route. Thus began the evacuation of embassy staff, Afghan nationals, and citizens of countries such as the US and the UK.
From August 13 to August 30, hundreds of people left Afghanistan and thousands tried to stowaway. As the Taliban began taking control and starting entering Kabul, helicopters began landing at the US embassy to successfully carry out the evacuation process.
The tragic video of two people, including footballer Zaki Anwari, falling from the United States Air Force C-17A was shot on August 16. At the same time, at least 170 military flights reportedly flew from various countries, including the US, India, Austria, Australia, Germany, Canada, Netherlands, Turkey, and Spain.
By August 21, France, Australia, and a few other countries had evacuated hundreds of people from Afghanistan. Amid this, The Indian Express reported that the Taliban blocked 72 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus from leaving the country in an Indian Airforce flight. The Independent reported that at least four women were crushed to death on a narrow road leading to the Kabul airport.
The evacuation efforts, diplomatic negotiations, and deaths of Afghan citizens and foreign nationals continued to make headlines.
On August 30, the last flight from Kabul, a US Air Force C-17, took off at 11:59 pm. Originally, the evacuation process was scheduled to conclude on August 31, but it ended a day earlier, with more than 100,000 people reportedly evacuated globally. The reported death count during this period was nearly 200.
The phrase "The Last Plane Out of Kabul" is not merely a reference to the US Air Force C-17 that departed on August 30. It has come to symbolise the evacuation of thousands who survived, the deaths of hundreds who desperately tried to flee, and the countless people left behind to witness the Taliban's return to power, along with the erosion of women's rights, dignity, and freedoms.
Also Read | 'Divine Timing': Upasana Konidela Commissions A Sri Rama Murti From Ayodhya's Rama Lalla Sculptor
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
