Operation Red Handkerchief

Afghanistan, Kabul and Rome, Italy. 2021. Beneficiaries: 400 people.ne.

In the difficult days following the entry of the Taliban troops into Kabul, NOVE, along with a task force made up of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence and the Nel Nome della Donne Trust, carried out an emergency evacuation of 400 Afghans in danger, including women with children and people with disabilities.

With the support of Afghan diaspora volunteers, NOVE activated a coordination system via WhatsApp that gathered people into groups forevacuation, had them come together at safe points and signalled check points and dangers using satellite photos and geolocation. The feat, seemingly impossible, was to make it to the airport gates unharmed by the desperate and violent human masses besieging them. After three days of attempts, the first groups reached the access area guarded by the Carabinieri of the Tuscania Regiment, with whom NOVE was in constant contact. All the people we led had a red handkerchief as a sign of recognition. When our coordinator Amina managed to enter the airport, she went back outside escorted by the Carabinieri to get the others on the list to safety, who had been trapped in the crush.

Concurrently, another part of our team was coordinating with the Interforce Summit Operations Command to agree on a Kabul - Kuwait City - Rome airlift. The Kuwait City - Rome route was done using two A320 Airbuses made available to NOVE by the Nel Nome della Donna Trust.