A large number of protesters supporting Afghans gathered outside the White House over the weekend. They marched through Washington, D.C., and demanding that President Biden extend the 31st Aug deadline to evacuate American citizens and Afghan allies who helped the US military over the past 20 years. The protesters chanted push the deadline throughout Saturday afternoon. Many expressed their frustration with Biden. A protester said, “You failed us. As an American, you failed us. Twenty years for what? America has lost lives for what?” Another protester said, “You have blood on your hands”. The Biden administration announced last week that it would stick to its agreement with the Taliban to withdraw US troops from Kabul by Aug. 31.
The military has already started to pull equipment and draw down its evacuation efforts. One protester said, “Don’t trust the Taliban. You shouldn’t be negotiating with terrorists”. Several protesters said they have family members still stranded in Afghanistan, some of whom are US citizens. One woman protester said, “I have family, that are US citizens and they have been stuck there. There’s possibly no way for them to get out because officials aren’t giving them exact directions of where to go and even if they do go there, the Taliban or other checkpoints won’t let them through”. Another protester said her family has faced similar struggles. She said, “They got really close to evacuating. We actually had someone from the inside help but they were not able to get through past the gate”.
The Taliban announced over the weekend it was in talks to form a cabinet. Many protesters said their relatives in Afghanistan are living in terror now that the Taliban is back in power. One protester said, “They’re afraid for their life. They cannot go out. Banks are not open to them. They cannot go to work. Women are rejected to go back to work”. One man who traveled to Washington from Oklahoma said his aunt, who still resides in Afghanistan, suffers from PTSD as a result of previously living under Taliban rule. She is now bedridden over the Taliban’s return to power. He said, “My aunt’s story broke my heart”. He explained that his aunt normally walks with a disability, but ran for 10 minutes when she saw a Taliban member.