From the BBC:
“Afghanistan: Pen Farthing has
'mixed emotions' after landing in UK”
The founder of an animal shelter
in Afghanistan has said he has "mixed emotions" after arriving in the
UK after leaving Kabul. Paul "Pen" Farthing landed at Heathrow
Airport on Sunday morning, having previously been caught up in Thursday's Kabul
airport bomb blasts. Mr Farthing's charity Nowzad confirmed he and his animals
left the country on Saturday without his staff. He said on Twitter he had
"true deep feeling of sadness for Afghan today".
Mr Farthing, a former Royal
Marine who is originally from Dovercourt in Essex, set up the Nowzad animal
shelter in Kabul, rescuing dogs, cats and donkeys, after serving in Afghanistan
in the mid-2000s. Since the collapse of the Afghan government, Mr Farthing and
his supporters have campaigned to have his staff, their families and 140 dogs
and 60 cats evacuated from the country in a plan he named Operation Ark. But
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has complained some of Mr Farthing's supporters
had "taken up too much time of my senior commanders dealing with this
issue when they should be focused on dealing with the humanitarian
crisis". In a post on Sunday afternoon, Mr Farthing said he arrived at
Heathrow with a "partial success" of Operation Ark. "Mixed
emotions and true deep feeling of sadness for Afghan today," he said. Mr
Farthing added he had "witnessed first hand the compassion Heathrow is
showing Afghan refugees".
Dr Iain McGill, a vet on the
plane back with Mr Farthing, which made a stop-off in another country before
returning to the UK, said there were also between 90 to 100 dogs and 60 to 70
cats on the flight. "The animals, considering what they've been through,
are in very good shape on the whole," Dr McGill told the BBC. He said they
had been checked and had gone to quarantine kennels, adding: "As you can
imagine they're not short of homes for these animals." He added that Mr
Farthing was "very concerned for his staff and for all the other people
suffering in Afghanistan". The Nowzad charity said on social media that it
was a "devastating blow" that their "wonderful team" had
been left behind. But speaking to LBC on Saturday, Foreign Affairs Select
Committee chair Tom Tugendhat said: "The difficulty is getting people into
and out of the airport and we've just used a lot of troops to bring in 200
dogs, meanwhile my interpreter's family are likely to be killed. "As one
interpreter asked me a few days ago 'why is my five-year-old worth less than
your dog?'," the Conservative MP added. On Friday, the MoD said Mr
Farthing and his animals were assisted by the UK Armed Forces through Kabul
airport. Confirming the news Mr Farthing and the animals had left Afghanistan
on Saturday night, the Nowzad charity said their "thoughts for now are
with our staff and the many people and animals who have also been left behind.
We will do our utmost to help them". The final British flight left
Afghanistan on Saturday, bringing to an end the UK's 20-year military
involvement in the country. More than 15,000 people have been evacuated by the
UK since 14 August.
^ Pen Farthing (a Former British
Marine) and his 140 dogs and 60 cats landed at Heathrow Airport in London,
England today. He was forced to leave his Afghani Vets and Workers behind.
There is still no word on
American Charlotte Maxwell-Jones of Kabul Small Animal Rescue, her Afghani Vets
and Workers or her animals. ^
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