Trapped in Afghanistan, Rescued by Volunteers: How a Handful of Americans Freed 5,000 Afghans

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Afghanistan's deputy ambassador to Qatar, Barakat Rahmati, left, and Zach Van Meter at the Willard Hotel in Washington, working on rescue efforts in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan's deputy ambassador to Qatar, Barakat Rahmati, left, and Zach Van Meter at the Willard Hotel in Washington, working on rescue efforts in Afghanistan.

By: The Wall Street Journal

Zack Vanmeter, a private equity investor in Naples, Florida, called the Somaliland government last week asking if he would accept thousands of Afghan refugees.

“He suddenly called me,” said Bashir Goth, Washington’s representative for the Somaliland.

Two days later, on August 25, Somaliland’s deputy foreign minister signed a tentative agreement with a charity working with Mr. Vanmeter, temporarily leaving 10,000 Afghan refugees in Berbera, the port of the Gulf of Aden. Agreed to be housed in. Van Meter said it was one of the most successful and known civilian efforts to pull out Afghanistan, one of the on-the-fly efforts that helped about 5,000 Afghans escape their country in the past two weeks. It was a club.

Extraordinary war veterans, Afghan diplomats, wealthy donors, defense contractors, non-profit workers, and off-duty U.S. officials from the Peacock Lounge, Washington’s Willard Intercontinental Hotel meeting room. A collection of style commanded a worldwide army of rescue operations.

The self-proclaimed commercial task force has sent a former force to Kabul to retrieve the evacuees, said Vanmeter, president of the private equity firm New Standard Holdings, and others associated with the group. Allowed Afghanistan to be transported by air from Kabul International Airport in Kabul to a temporary shelter in Abu Dhabi with the United Arab Emirates. There, many of the 5,000 evacuees are waiting for permission to travel to countries that provide permanent shelter.

Zack Vanmeter, a private-equity investor in Naples, Florida, called the Somaliland government last week asking if he would accept thousands of Afghan refugees.

“He suddenly called me,” said Bashir Goth, Washington’s representative for the Somalis region seeking independence.

Two days later, on August 25, Somaliland’s deputy foreign minister signed a tentative agreement with a charity working with Mr. Vanmeter, temporarily leaving 10,000 Afghan refugees in Berbera, the port of the Gulf of Aden. Agreed to be housed in. Van Meter said it was one of the most successful and known civilian efforts to pull out Afghanistan, one of the on-the-fly efforts that helped about 5,000 Afghans escape their country in the past two weeks. It was a club.

Extraordinary war veterans, Afghan diplomats, wealthy donors, defense contractors, non-profit workers, and off-duty U.S. officials from the Peacock Lounge, Washington’s Willard Intercontinental Hotel meeting room. A collection of style commanded a worldwide army of rescue operations.

The self-proclaimed commercial task force has sent a former force to Kabul to retrieve the evacuees, said Vanmeter, president of the private equity firm New Standard Holdings, and others associated with the group. Allowed Afghanistan to be transported by air from Kabul International Airport in Kabul to a temporary shelter in Abu Dhabi with the United Arab Emirates. There, many of the 5,000 evacuees are waiting for permission to travel to countries that provide permanent shelter.

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