The worried father of an Irish woman desperate to get out of Afghanistan said his family will only begin to breathe properly again when she is out of the country’s airspace.
Aoife MacManus, currently staying in an area being “protected” by the Taliban, was hoping to be flown out on Wednesday.
She has been co-ordinating a major education programme, run by an international charity for the last two years in Afghanistan.
Her father Ray said his wife Jenny and son Colm, who are from Ashbourne, Co Meath, have been “worried sick” as the Taliban swept through Afghanistan.
He added: “We have been extremely concerned for weeks now as we were watching the Taliban take over inexorably heading towards Kabul.
“Once she is out of Afghan airspace, we can begin to breathe properly and get a good night’s sleep again. We don’t care where she flies into as long as it’s out of Afghanistan.
“We were losing more and more sleep. We were talking to Aoife and of course, they weren’t getting the same news as we were and Aoife said everything was quiet in Kabul.
“Nobody expected it. You would think American and British intelligence would have some inkling of the speed with which the Taliban would get into Kabul.
“I remember seeing when the last southern city fell, there was only 140km of motorway between it and Kabul, and American intelligence was saying it will be 30 days before they get in – and they were there in two.
"Then as we were hearing these reports the Taliban was surrounding the city, you can imagine the feeling in the stomach, the tightening, trying to get a breath.
“We were speaking to Aoife and she was saying they were evacuating from the compound but there was a lack of certainty as plans were changed not only by the hour, but by the five minutes.
“They were saying goodbye to their Afghan colleagues and friends who they admire, love and respect so much and they were all crying getting into armoured vehicles.”
Ray told LMFM Radio’s Late Lunch show yesterday Aoife hoped to be coming home today.
He said: “We were getting news feeds and getting more and more sick with worry the whole time.
“At this stage she is in the gentle care of the Taliban and they are protecting the place. We never thought we’d see the day when we’d be happy enough with that situation but they are bending over backwards by the looks of things to make sure no foreigner is touched.
“It seems only a question of time now that flights will resume at the airport and Aoife will, please God, fly out.
“She was the co-ordinator of an education project particularly for women and girls and it was so important to her.
“She spent eight-and-a-half years working in development education in Ghana and Mozambique and now in Kabul and it is her passion.
“People who have been reasonably educated now will have a different outlook in life and will understand how important it is to educate their own children.
“But it would be an awful pity to see the progress made by Aoife and her likes stopped in its tracks.”
