They go from place to place without warning in a desperate attempt to evade the Taliban; they are girls whose lives are in danger simply because they chose to play the sport they love.
International efforts to evacuate members of Afghanistan’s women’s youth soccer team, along with dozens of their relatives and federation staff, suffered a severe setback last week after a suicide attack at Kabul airport caused the deaths of 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. military personnel during an air evacuation.
Now, frightened and desperate, the girls are worried about whether a coalition of former U.S. military and intelligence officials, lawmakers, U.S. allies, humanitarian groups and the national team captain can put them to them and their loved ones out of danger.
“They’re incredibly young women who should be playing in the yard, on the swings, with their friends, and here they are, in a terrible situation to play football,” said Robert McCreary, a former congressional office chief and civil servant. White House during the presidency of George W. Bush and who has worked with special forces in Afghanistan. “We need to do everything we can to protect them and put them out of harm’s way.”
Most of the players in the Afghan national team, formed in 2007, were evacuated to Australia last week.
But girls, ages 14 to 16, and their families could also be attacked by the Taliban, not only because it is forbidden for women and girls to play football, but because they were advocates for girls and members. active in their communities, noted Farkhunda Muhtaj, the captain of the national combined and lives in Canada.
“They are devastated. Desperate, considering the situation they are in,” said Muhtaj, who keeps in touch with the girls and asks them to stay calm.
In recent days, at least five failed attempts have been made to rescue the girls, while they are being relocated to different parts of Afghanistan for security reasons, McCreary and Muhtaj noted. They were “very close to freedom” when the suicide attack was perpetrated, Muhtaj added.
And to complicate the rescue tasks is the size of the group: 133 people, including the 26 members of the youth team, as well as adults and other minors, even children. Many do not have passports or any other type of documents needed to board flights from Kabul.
McCreary said the mission, called Operation Soccer Balls, is being carried out in collaboration with other countries, and in the hope that the girls will eventually settle in the United States. He noted that Australia, France and Qatar have expressed interest in helping. He also asked the Taliban to facilitate the departure of the group, saying it would be a gesture of goodwill.
“If we can create a protective bubble around these women and young people … I really think the world will be more attentive and we will have a lot of offers to welcome and host them,” McCreary said.