The first episode of the new Channel 4 documentary series Evacuation left viewers startled as it highlighted the lengths civilians took to evacuate war-torn Afghanistan.
The gripping docuseries chronicles precisely what happened in August 2021, as the Taliban drew in on Kabul, with British military officers charged with evacuate 15,000 British passport holders, diplomatic workers, and vulnerable Afghan civilians.
They had only 16 days to accomplish it, as Operation Pitting was quickly devolving into anarchy.
The events unfolding at Kabul airport horrified viewers at home, while troops, pilots, and medics participating in the operation talked openly and passionately about what they experienced.
Interviews with Afghans who were rescued during the operation were also included in the documentary.
Many Afghans were understandably keen to leave, with the episode displaying genuine cell phone footage of men, women, and children racing towards planes and totally blocking the runway in an attempt to reach safety.
People threw themselves onto and under planes, with parents gripping onto their small babies as they packed a lifetime’s worth of belongings into a single suitcase in the hopes of being able to escape.
Reacting to the horrific moments, viewers of Evacuation said they felt ‘traumatised’.
‘After watching #Evacuation I actually feel sick’, one viewer tweeted, with another writing: ‘That was traumatic. I can barely believe what I just saw. How could that happen?’
‘Wow that’s an incredibly powerful story – extraordinary people’, another said, praising the Armed Forces.
‘That was a tough watch’, another said.
Others described the video as “harrowing,” with one tearful viewer tweeting, “so desperate to get out they grabbed on to any part of the jet they could while it lifted off!” That was a difficult film to see!’
While the pandemonium at Kabul’s airport was developing, political paralysis at the top of the government added to the uncertainty on the ground.
Dominic Raab has been chastised for his lack of leadership over the crisis, as he was on vacation when Taliban fighters overran Kabul.
British military had ‘no notion’ how many people they were evacuating, with personnel entrusted with processing those qualified for a flight from a nearby hotel as many more waited outside.
Taking to Twitter once again, viewers urged both Raab and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to watch the three-part series.
‘Watching #Evacuation and the effect it had on the grass roots military getting people out of Afghanistan..I also remember our Foreign Secretary at the time @DominicRaab, sat on a beach, on holiday..As you would. Still kept his job!’, one viewer slammed.
Watching people fall from the plane was absolutely heartbreaking. I feel sick knowing people risked their lives to feel safe #Evacuation
— Amy (@Itsjustme_amy) July 2, 2023
That was traumatic. I can barely believe what I just saw. How could that happen? And how can our horrible government threaten to send these desperate Afghan refugees to Rwanda? #evacuation
— Faye K (@FayeKamsika) July 2, 2023
My admiration for these men & women can’t be put into words. Not just for what they did but for their honesty & humanity in telling us all about it. & showing us openly the effect on them. Powerful stuff #Evacuation
— Beki1412 (@beki1412) July 2, 2023
This is just the most extraordinary documentary capturing the tragedy of it all #Evacuation
— Rosemary Lee (@RosemaryLee29) July 2, 2023
That was a tough watch. Hope you were watching @BorisJohnson @DominicRaab @SuellaBraverman. All credit to C4 #Evacuation
— Grannie Alba 🇺🇦🏴🇪🇺 (@weenairn) July 2, 2023
‘The UK and US Governments should be ashamed after watching people hanging on the plane and then falling to their death because of the Taliban’, tweeted another.
‘Let’s see those Tories reaction to this, the same Tories that are trying to send the boats back, when some of these people who were left, are on these boats’, another argued, in reference to the current government’s controversial immigration policies.
However, one moment that did strike viewers as powerful was hearing tales of humanity amid all the distress.
‘The thing that surprised me the most was how many families there were and in particular, how many children. They looked exhausted,’ said one of the soldiers.
‘I did find myself thinking, “That could just as easily be my family.”
‘Then I saw these two young girls, it was really a wonderful moment in the midst of all of this, they came up jumped on the sidewall seats and were dancing… in matching outfits…’
He couldn’t complete his narrative, so he cried and apologised.
‘Them two little girls were just happy to be safe’, one Twitter user responded.
All episodes of Evacuation are available to stream now on All4. Episode 2 airs on Channel 4 tomorrow night at 9pm.
