The fall of Kabul; the resurrection of the Taliban - it was a harrowing scene for most. But for LGBTQ Afghans, it's a nightmare come true.
Nemat Sadat - believed to be one of the first Afghans to publicly come out as gay - has warned it is not hyperbolic to compare the Talban's plans to the actions of the Nazis.
"[They'll] weed them out and exterminate them from Afghan society," he said.
Almost overnight, his Twitter has turned into a stark reminder of the reality the queer community faces, flooded with anecdotes of civilians wishing they could turn invisible, fearing for their lives, and desperate for a way out.
And then there's a picture that makes even the most avid Twitter scroller stop in their tracks: the lacerated arm of a man on the Taliban's hit list. Fortunately, he managed to escape.
Now, the UK government is being urged to make LGBTQ+ Afghans a priority group for evacuation.
In a letter sent to Dominic Raab, Stonewall and Rainbow Migration said: "LGBTQ+ Afghans need our support. But they will not be able to benefit from the Government's evacuation programme unless they receive targeted support...
"Like all of those seeking to flee, it is clear that robust security efforts are needed for vulnerable people to be able to leave the country to seek safety."
But how will the government respond - when their track record on LGBTQ+ asylums is abysmal, to say the least.
According to Gov.UK statistics, there were 1,212 asylum applications lodged in the UK in 2019, where sexual orientation formed part of the basis for the claim. This only represents three percent of all asylum applications.
However, only 464 of those applications were actually granted.
Zac Daily, 32, says he was unsuccessful at applying for asylum in the UK for three and a half years as the government "didn't believe" he was gay.
It's unfathomable: being so excruciatingly vulnerable and vomiting up the sexuality you have been forced to repress - just to be told it's not believable.
"It was very hard to convince the government I was gay because I was not out at the time," Daily told the Liverpool Echo .
"How was I supposed to prove I'm gay? What did they want me to do? They said I should go back home and live a gay life in secret, and I'll be fine".
Now I know this is a nuanced debate. The government has extensive reports on how they shouldn't stereotype LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, and how they should deal with the matter sensitively - but we cannot let a situation like this happen again.
If we do, blood may be on our hands.
