After fleeing fear and death, Afghan evacuees start to hope as they wait to be flown to America
In an otherwise forgettable corner of western Germany, you drive round a corner and find yourself in America, complete with planes, jeeps and a lot of soldiers.
Ramstein Air Base is the biggest part of a cluster of American facilities. Together, they make up the biggest community of Americans outside the United States. This is the focus of the country’s air operations within Europe and, right now, it’s hectic.
The base has already dealt with more than 20,000 people who have been evacuated from Afghanistan. Many of them have already been flown on to the US, in order to start new lives – but plenty more are still on the base, waiting for their flight.
A huge section of the base has been turned into a tented village, where evacuees are given accommodation, food, drink, a hot shower and both safety and hope.
Afghans board buses at the air base. The buses will take them to planes that will, in turn, take them to the US
In Hanger 5, we meet Afghans who are now preparing to leave the base and board a flight to America. Rafi tells me that he would “definitely, definitely” have been killed if he stayed in Kabul.
“You know, all of my family members worked with the US Embassy, and they [the Taliban] blame us for that: ‘Why are your family members working with the US military? You are the criminal’. They say it is a crime to work with the US military and they would kill us.
“I have faced so many difficulties. So I’m glad that they’re going to take us to the United States. Our life is safe and there are no dangers for us.”
That theme, of fleeing death, is one that you hear again and again from the people in the hanger. One man, speaking in broken English, delivered with a smile, told me that he had worked with American advisers and that the Taliban were “really terrible… very, very dangerous for us”. His ambition now, he said, was to live in California.
As we move to leave, a man comes to say hello. His name is Hamid and alongside him is his daughter, Lima. We have only a couple of minutes to talk, but their story is remarkable.
Among the evacuees are Lima Samar (left) who was a presenter on the first all-female Afghan TV channel and her father Hamid Samar (right) who set up the station
In 2017, Hamid set up a television channel called Zan, which was almost exclusively staffed by women. Among its presenters was Lima. At the start of the month, she was one of Afghanistan’s few female news presenters; now, a few weeks later, she is a refugee.
“It is dangerous to live in Afghanistan with the Taliban,” she told me. “They didn’t allow girls to go school and they are too much scary persons.
“Afghanistan is too difficult for a woman. Some people are saying the Taliban are going to their houses and they are taking their daughters and marrying them. And they didn’t allow girls to go to school. It is scary.”
Hamid smiles stoically, reflecting on the television channel he launched, and has now lost. “It was a 20-year achievement, and we lost it in less than 24 hours. The new life with the new chapters might be stopped, but it’s very difficult. But, you know, we have hope and we have a vision to come back stronger.”
To talk to these Afghans is to be confronted by this curious combination of horror, fear and regret blended with optimism and relief. As we watched, buses carried hundreds of people from the hanger and off towards a waiting passenger jet, chartered from United Airlines, and soon to take all these Afghans towards their new home.
For American soldiers on the base, the workload is unrelenting
For them, the sense of rescue is evident. But for the American soldiers on this base, the workload is unrelenting. General Josh Olson is the overall commander of the facility. When we spoke, he looked tired and a little frustrated that, in his mind, his people haven’t received the plaudits they deserve.
“Part of the problem is the people’s understanding of what’s going on in the US is very different from the real world. It is a Herculean effort,” he said. “It’s absolutely amazing what our young airmen, our soldiers and our sailors are doing and what we’re asking them to do.
“It’s a heavy burden seeing those soldiers come off that medical evacuation aeroplane. It’s a heavy burden seeing little babies that are, you know, tired, that are crying, that are hungry, that are weary.
“And that’s a heavy burden because each and every single one of those are my responsibility. It is a joint effort of a magnitude that we don’t even understand.”
World
Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Read more: What’s a bear market?
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Do Trump’s tariffs add up?
Read more:
Markets gave Trump a clear no-confidence vote
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
World
Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem
South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.
His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Read more from Sky News:
Highs and lows of Five-Year Keir
MP tells Sky News she was targeted online by Tate brothers
The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports12 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway