After the air rescue of 150 dogs and cats from his animal shelter in Kabul, a British ex-soldier now also wants to bring his employees to safety. Paul Farthing told the Daily Mail that he felt guilty about leaving people behind. The “poorly thought out withdrawal” of the Allies from Afghanistan destroyed the country overnight and cost countless lives. “We sent them back to the dark ages,” says Farthing. For the first time, a young vet had to appear completely veiled to work.
Farthing had left Kabul a few days ago. In Great Britain the “Operation Arche”, as the rescue of the animals was called, caused a lot of discussion. Critics accuse the 52-year-old and the British government of having flown animals and leaving Afghan local workers behind. Farthing rejected this. The animals were flown out in the hold of a cargo machine, in which no people could have been transported. Five cats died during the trip. The remaining animals are now in quarantine in the UK.
His employees urged him to get by on his own with the animals after a joint bus convoy was rejected at Kabul airport due to missing papers, said Farthing. He paid the employees the wages for several months in advance. Now he’s trying to get her out of Afghanistan from afar.
Defense Minister: Discussion was a waste of time
The case resolved in Great Britain a heated controversy. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace had complained in interviews that the discussion had taken too long and accused Nowzad supporters of having put his staff under pressure. The Times published an audio message on Sunday allegedly threatening a Defense Department adviser to “destroy” him on social media if he did not support him in his endeavors.
In the British rescue operation from Afghanistan, which ended at the weekend, more than 15,000 people were evacuated, according to government information. However, with up to 1,000 local workers left behind because of the shortage of time, many British were indignant about the evacuation of pets.
