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American citizens who are in Afghanistan not only have to deal with the uncertainty of being in a country ruled by terrorists who are enemies of the United States, but also have to pay for their repatriation flights, according to the information posted by OSAC on its website.
“The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has received reports that international commercial flights continue to operate from Kabul, but seats may not be available. The U.S. Embassy is exploring options for U.S. citizens who want to depart and have been unable to find a seat on commercial flights,” reads part of the information.
Further on in the text are the “eligibility requirements.” In the second bullet point of this section, OSAC reports that “Repatriation flights are not free, and passengers will be required to sign a promissory loan agreement and may not be eligible to renew their U.S. passports until the loan is repaid. The cost may be $2,000USD or more per person.”
In other words, U.S. citizens in Afghanistan – tremendously affected by the lousy withdrawal pushed by the Biden administration – will not even have their return home paid for by the government.
OSAC also stipulated two other eligibility requirements: ” The U.S. Embassy will prioritize U.S. citizens for any charter flights. U.S. citizens with a non-citizen spouse or unmarried children (under age 21) may include their family members in their repatriation assistance requests but should indicate each family member’s citizenship and whether each has a valid passport and/or a U.S. visa.”
They further add that ” If you are a non-U.S. citizen parent of a U.S. citizen minor, please indicate whether you have appropriate travel documentation to enter the United States (i.e. valid U.S. visa). If you do not have appropriate travel documentation, please identify an individual who currently has valid travel documentation who could accompany your U.S. citizen minor.”
According to OSAC, “All passengers should have valid travel documents required for entry into the United States (e.g. U.S. passports or visas).”
While the information has been available since August 14, today, August 19, the travel requirements began circulating on social media generating outrage from many users.
“Biden has no problem chartering free buses to transport illegals from the Southern Border all across America, but is charging American citizens $2000+ to fly home from Afghanistan?!? This is disgusting!” wrote Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO).
“We ran a $3 trillion federal deficit last year, but we’re really going to charge our own citizens for being evacuated from a country in the throes of a hostile takeover? If there’s anything I’d want my tax dollars spent on, it’s THAT,” wrote Mike Ciandella, a Dallas resident.
“The Biden administration is more than happy to throw billions of dollars in free hardware to the Taliban but it sees fit to extort money from people fleeing certain death,” criticized conservative activist Ian Miles Cheong.
Situation of American citizens in Afghanistan
Thousands of Americans are stranded in Afghanistan trying to return home. While there are no official figures, it is estimated that some 15,000 Americans are still in the Afghan country. So far, the U.S. has managed to evacuate about 6,000 people, significantly fewer than the Pentagon planned to evacuate between 5,000 and 9,000 people daily through the Kabul airport.
The situation is critical because the U.S. plan to rescue the citizens is unclear. According to a Washington Post report, “administration officials – from the State and Defense departments, as well as the National Security Council and the Joint Chiefs of Staff – (…) told assembled Senate staff members that there is no plan to evacuate Americans outside Kabul, as they have no way to get through Taliban checkpoints outside the Afghan capital.”
This makes it clear that there are thousands of American citizens in Afghanistan who have no idea how to escape the chaos in Kabul today.
Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón is a journalist at El American specializing in the areas of American politics and media analysis // Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón es periodista de El American especializado en las áreas de política americana y análisis de medios de comunicación.
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