Fingers crossed for Pen Farthing and Nowzad

What child was that Barmeyoldbat?

I would think the Marines would be very proud of him, he served for 22 years.

Alegrias1

Zoejory

He's besmirched the honour of the Marines - nothing to say there, really, is there?

That has to be one of the most absurd comments on here.

You should all get on the Sunday Mail. You'll find lots of like minded types.

Just to be clear Zoejory - I don't think this is true at all, but its what people are saying. I'm sure you understood that but I wanted to be clear what my position is.

I've started wondering to myself what possible benefit there is to the Government in scapegoating Farthing and telling us he prevented people getting out, he hindered the execution of the plan etc? But its obvious, isn't it? When we all start to realise how many people have been left behind, they can blame it on the diversion about "pets".

Sorry Alegrias, I included your input on the quote unintentionally. I'm not seeing straight at the moment.

I totally agree about the scapegoating. They're on a smear campaign and Pen's animals are the cause of all the misery left behind.

Far better to blame him and his dogs than the government

Galaxy

Its quite possible that the government are spinning this to distract from their own failings, it's also possible that Pen is not a angel, in my experience there are very few heroes and they are often than not deeply flawed.

It's definitely a spin, Galaxy And of course Pen's not an angel. He wouldn't claim to be on either.

Cross posts Zoejory. We're on the same page.

And I think Pen's probably no angel and a nightmare to deal with because he used to be a Marine. All the ex-Marines I know are pretty hard men. (Yes Call, surprisingly I do know some!). Doesn't make him the root of all evil though.

I've started wondering to myself what possible benefit there is to the Government in scapegoating Farthing and telling us he prevented people getting out, he hindered the execution of the plan etc?

I thought that the paperwork wasn't in order because the people were working for a charity not for any Government organisation and that anyone working for an allied NATO government would be given priority?

What?

What in earth has that got to do with the government scapegoating the guy?

Why are people left behind Minister? "Well we could have got more out if it wasn't for that foul mouthed bloke and his dogs"

See how it works?

Barmeyoldbat

Well he and his animals are out at last at the the cost of human lives. It would seem from what I read, The Guardian, that it took a lot of man power to get the animals to the airfield and then on board, manpower that’s was diverted from helping totters. Also there are now claims of his bullying, foul mouth rants to staff to get help. I despise him and see him him as an arrogant bully.

Huh?
It's been stated over and over and over and over again that the animals did not take priority over any human lives.

The processing centre at the Hotel was closed after the bombs on Thursday.
*Source - Reuters - www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/uk-says-it-is-last-stages-kabul-evacuations-processing-ended-2021-08-27/

From what I've read - the whole party - Pen, his Staff and families (including women and young children) and the animals were told they had to leave their place in the queue into the airport, where they had been for 36 hours, on Thursday after the bombings.

Pen alone was summoned to the airport with his animals on Friday - of course, the animals won't need to be processed in the same way as the people. The drivers of two vehicles (his Staff) weren't allowed through the Taliban checkpoints so Soldiers had to take those vehicles through - reminder again that there were no people being processed so not queue jumping.

The plans Pen had in place for himself and his staff to load the animals on the aircraft couldn't happen because he didn't have his staff, so Soldiers helped load them onto the plane. The privately funded plane, animals in the hold.

There were no more people to be checked through to get on flights because the clearing station had been closed the day before.

The recording of Pen giving hell to Ben Wallace MP's staff member was from early last week when it became clear there were only days left and he was desperate, desperate, to get a call sign to give the aircraft to land in Kabul. To get his Staff out, to get himself out, and those animals that he could. This had been given the green light by Boris Johnson himself, you couldn't get higher authority.

He'd reported a few days earlier that his Norwegian wife and a female US staff member, heavily pregnant (33 weeks) and with a young child, had tried to get to the airport the previous Thursday in the chaos, both summoned by their respective Governments, they were groped and manhandled; they gave up and went somewhere locally overnight and went to the airport again in the early hours of the next day, and were taken out of Afghanistan. The US woman has reportedly been held in Germany in appalling conditions with other Afghans, 9,000 of them with "not enough food and few toilets".

This is - my opinion - a man on the edge trying desperately to salvage an appalling situation, to help his Staff that he's worked with for years. They were ready to go on Sunday - delays, delays for days, from Ministers who weren't answering his calls. I have absolutely no doubt he did a lot of swearing on that call. Peoples lives on the line - wouldn't you? Wouldn't I?

You, Barmeyoldbat, are entitled to your opinion but the disregard for the truth, and for facts, are regrettable.

What?

Perfectly reasonable suggestion that those who worked directly for NATO Allies would be prioritised.
That does not mean that the staff who worked for NATO allies could not have been got out over months instead of the chaos that ensued and that they should have known this would happen.

The drivers of two vehicles (his Staff) weren't allowed through the Taliban checkpoints so Soldiers had to take those vehicles through

that is a very important point LondonMzFitz: it was a Taliban checkpoint, they were in charge.

Barmeyoldbat

I am not knocking the work he has done, nor am I an animal hater but when a child asked him Why are your animals lives worth more than mine, it would seem he had no answer.

WRONG. I presume you are quoting the Mail on Sunday. The quote is -

(Senior Tory MP) Mr Tugendhat, who served in Afghanistan, revealed how his former interpreter, who is now stuck in Kabul, asked him: ‘Why is my five-year-old worth less than your dog?

‘I didn’t have an answer,’ he says.

In the name of all that is Holy if you are going to spread information please make sure it's right information, eh?

Serious comprehension problems on this thread....

This backlash against Pen Farthing is deflecting from the news that the Foreign Office ignored thousands of emails.

From the Observer today " Thousands of emails to the Foreign Office from MPs and charities detailing urgent cases of Afghans trying to escape from Kabul have not been read, including cases flagged by government ministers, the Observer has been told."

LondonmzFitz, it seems you got your information from the news papers/agency, same as me, As for the child asking the question, it was in the Sunday Mail and it’s not a paper I buy or usually read, so I must apologise for getting that wrong as I just glanced at it but at the same time the question was still asked by a child and it does make you think. Still hold onto my beliefs it was totally wrong to remove those animals.

Reported he's landed at Heathrow, animals will be looked after by a "team of vets" and Nowzad (UK) Staff.

Interesting point made by Dominic Dyer who's been the media voice in this, why was this recorded voicemail made public? Do GDPR rules not apply if you are calling from Afghanistan?

The Government have leaked a private call.

Will questions be asked, will there be an investigation along the lines of the CCTV of Matt Hancock kissing in the corridors of power? Don't hold your breath.

Dinahmo

This backlash against Pen Farthing is deflecting from the news that the Foreign Office ignored thousands of emails.

From the Observer today " Thousands of emails to the Foreign Office from MPs and charities detailing urgent cases of Afghans trying to escape from Kabul have not been read, including cases flagged by government ministers, the Observer has been told."

It's a dead cat, Dinahmo

(I'll get my coat...)

We've heard about the frustration of those trying to get interpreters and their families to safety for months if not longer.
It is a disgrace and perhaps explains why some are so very upset and their anger has become focussed on these animals.

Wonder if Johnson will have a photo shoot with the rescued animals. Or whether he’ll realise it’s a rather contentious issue?

Barmeyoldbat

LondonmzFitz, it seems you got your information from the news papers/agency, same as me, As for the child asking the question, it was in the Sunday Mail and it’s not a paper I buy or usually read, so I must apologise for getting that wrong as I just glanced at it but at the same time the question was still asked by a child and it does make you think. Still hold onto my beliefs it was totally wrong to remove those animals.

But you "glanced at it" and quoted it as fact when it's a statement given by a Tory MP ... And it's been shown several times that it is Tory MP's and their staff that are trying to deflect attention from their mismanagement of this situation onto a bloke with a bit of earthy language trying to save his staff. You've only got the word of someone trying to smear Pen as saying a child asked his Dad who asked me ... Wouldn't stand in a Court of Justice, won't stand with me.

If I'd not pointed out that you've given incorrect information would you have been spouting this on to friends and family?

Honestly - I've used the same language as Pen reading through some of these posts ...

15,000 people evacuated by British troops, an estimated 1,000 unable to get through to the airport.
There are hopes they can be helped to leave overland.

Reuters

Not the Daoly Mail or the Mail on Sunday:

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/aug/28/animal-rescuer-threatened-mod-aide-for-blocking-kabul-evacuation

Although visas were granted for his 24 staff and their dependents, Farthing refused to leave without his pets and aimed to get 200 dogs and cats out of the country.

On Friday, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced that the ex-marine and his animals were at Kabul airport and clearance for their charter flight had been sponsored by the UK government.

Perhaps we are not to believe The Guardian either then.

MayBee70

Wonder if Johnson will have a photo shoot with the rescued animals. Or whether he’ll realise it’s a rather contentious issue?

I had wondered if he might adopt one to go with his other!

Callistemon

Not the Daoly Mail or the Mail on Sunday:

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/aug/28/animal-rescuer-threatened-mod-aide-for-blocking-kabul-evacuation

Although visas were granted for his 24 staff and their dependents, Farthing refused to leave without his pets and aimed to get 200 dogs and cats out of the country.

On Friday, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced that the ex-marine and his animals were at Kabul airport and clearance for their charter flight had been sponsored by the UK government.

Perhaps we are not to believe The Guardian either then.

First paragraph was quoted on Sky News last night. Boris Johnson gave the green light for the staff and their families to leave, I don't know if that equates to "Visa's". There was also the process of being vetted to ensure the right people are travelling on the right paperwork. The interviews I've seen directly from Pen on Facebook (live interviews) he's said "my staff and hopefully my animals". Maybe he was pushing to get the animals out too which is translated as "refused".

To be very clear. The animals couldn't stay without the Staff, I think from numbers quoted that I've seen only 3 or 4 of the Nowzad staff were going to stay at the Sanctuary to look after the donkeys they have their and to continue to look after any injured animals that come to them. They couldn't possibly care for this number of animals and - again - the Afghan banks are frozen so although there is money in the Nowzad bank account in Kabul they can't access it, there wouldn't be money for food for the animals. Those 160+ animals would have had to be euthanised. That would, for an animal sanctuary, be the absolute last resort. It's also my understanding that many of these animals already have homes in place - rehoming was put on hold because of Covid and some other legislation in the US (can't place the source now).

A lot of the above is me speculating, but it seems pretty likely.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/4a851406-082a-11ec-ab20-2ce30c912e38?shareToken=53beb9ade388d3fcb94aa1f5a6ec969d

I don't believe the Guardian after I thought Labour were going to win in 2019 !