Kiwi fears for Afghan friend on Taliban hit list as New Zealand ends evacuation

Friday, 27 August 2021

Former New Zealand aid worker Duane Wilkins (second from left) is fearing the worst for his friend and New Zealand ally Shaib Mohammad (far left), who is trying to flee from Afghanistan.

Duane Wilkins last spoke to Shaib Mohammad while the Taliban were standing armed outside his house in Kabul. He has no idea whether his friend, and a friend of New Zealand, has been able to escape safely.

Wilkins, a former engineer in Afghanistan, has been trying desperately to get Mohammad and his family – his wife and their three-month-old daughter Jacinda-Sana – out of Afghanistan and away from the Taliban.

The militant group seized control of the country earlier this month and is now targetting Afghans who worked for foreign governments. That includes Mohammad, who provided personal security for Wilkins and other engineers during frequent visits to Bamiyan, in central Afghanistan, where they worked for the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team.

Wilkins, who lives in Petone, was in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010, working on construction projects including medical facilities, roads, schools, a university and a midwife clinic.

Wilkins was in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010. This photo in front of a Kiwi statue at the New Zealand base in Bamiyan was taken by Mohammad.

Mohammad has a three-month-old daughter, Jacinda-Sana Mohammad, named after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

* Prospect of rescuing all New Zealanders in Afghanistan dwindling

* New Zealand's Afghan allies were pleading for help for months

Smoke rises from a deadly explosion outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Hundreds of people gather near an evacuation control checkpoint during ongoing evacuations at Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Taliban wrested back control of Afghanistan nearly 20 years after they were ousted in a U.S.-led invasion following the September 11 terror attacks.

On one occasion, during an attack on the New Zealand base in the capital Kabul, Mohammad saved his life by taking him away to safety, Wilkins said.

After being in constant contact with Mohammad in the past two weeks, Wilkins hasn’t heard from him since 2am on Friday (New Zealand time), when a suicide bomber attacked at Kabul’s international airport.

Mohammad reported hearing explosions. Then silence.

Mohammad sent Wilkins a photo of showing Taliban fighters outside his home, less than 50 metres away.

Mohammad was “fully kitted up”, with knives, guns and a bulletproof vest. He indicated he was preparing for a “last stand”.

“That’s when it really hit me,” Wilkins said. “He’s there with his wife, with his child, thinking death is coming.”

Wilkins said nothing could prepare someone for trying to support a friend of 12 years in such a harrowing situation. “It’s very hard to process. Last night, there were a few tears.”

Mohammad reported receiving death threats at his house, and five colleagues been killed or disappeared.

Wilkins said he feared the worst for Mohammad. “If he stays in Kabul, his name’s on the list, they know where he is, he will have no chance.”

The New Zealand Government ended its effort on Thursday to evacuate New Zealand citizens, their families and Afghan allies from Afghanistan following the attack, which killed United States soldiers and numerous Afghans seeking an escape from the country.

Wilkins said he last heard from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) on Friday about his resettlement application for Mohammad.

A spokesperson for the ministry said they could not comment on individual cases for privacy and security reasons.

They said extraordinary efforts had been made to try and bring home as many New Zealanders, and people who had supported New Zealand, as possible.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, NZDF [New Zealand Defence Force], and other relevant agencies continue to coordinate with international partners on potential next steps now that the evacuation operation is effectively over.

“We are discussing with partners potential next steps and how the New Zealand Government can best assist New Zealand citizens, permanent residents, and their immediate families who remain in Afghanistan.”