Crisis worker on harrowing toll of evacuation race
A SCOT working as part of the team in the UK Government crisis centre helping evacuate thousands from Afghanistan said it was a “harrowing” task.
Gerry McGurk said it had been a race against time.
He said: “It was not uncommon for the Taliban to be literally banging on the door while someone was calling us.
“There were also people showing us bruises from being beaten as they tried to get through the checkpoints.”
Gerry, originally from Stirling, said some of the staff had struggled with their own emotions in their desperation to help.
He said: “I’ve sometimes needed to be there as a shoulder to cry on as it can be harrowing.”
Gerry was working with more than 100 others in a control hub in the basement of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, in London.
The UK Government evacuated more than 15,000 people, including about 2200 children, from August 14 until the final British military flight departed on
August 28. Gerry, 50, added: “The flights out may have now stopped but the efforts to secure safe passage for any British or eligible Afghans remaining in the country will not cease.”
The UK Government brought together teams from the Foreign Office, Home Office and Ministry of Defence to orchestrate the response to the crisis, with the clock ticking on the pullout of US forces from the country.
Gerry said: “I’ve been a frequent visitor to this centre having been involved in crisis responses for the Nepal earthquake, the Algeria terrorist attack and Gaza evacuations to name but a few.
“I’m pretty battle-hardened but this Afghanistan operation has not been an easy task and the television pictures have clearly illustrated how volatile the situation is on the ground.
“The pace was relentless. It was exhausting but the boost we were getting from news that we’d got someone out was a powerful motivator to keep going.”
It was exhausting but getting someone out is a motivator GERRY McGURK ON AFGHANISTAN EVACUATION