Royal Marine who rescued dogs from Kabul as Taliban seized power now in Ukraine
A British Royal Marine who carried out a mass evacuation of rescue pets from Kabul as it was seized by the Taliban is now facing similar conditions in Ukraine, it has emerged.
Pen Farthing, 54, made headlines in August 2021 while drumming up support for a fundraiser to evacuate 200 cats and dogs from Kabul, which turned into a chaotic warzone as the Taliban defeated the former Afghan leadership to take control of the capital following the withdrawl of US and NATO troops.
The mission - which was dubbed "Operation Ark" - was reported across the globe and raised concerns over whether the evacuation of pets had become more important than saving those most vulnerable to the Taliban's repressive and violent rule. The former Royal Marine - who spent 18 months in the country trying to "bring about some good" before August's chaos - managed to get the animals flown out after the high-profile campaign, in which he regularly chastised the UK Government's failures. The events split public opinion with many saying that valuable time and resources were frittered away in dealing with animals rather than the Brits and Afghans trapped in the country.
Two years on, Mr Farthing has taken his work to Ukraine, where his charity NOWZAD has been rescuing kittens and pups as Vladimir Putin continues to rain down bombs on the country. In one photo shared on his Twitter page, a woman sits in a chair in a room with peeling walls surrounded by cages as she gives medicine to a weak puppy. In another video, he compares his visit to a town near Bakhmut to the events of Kabul, saying: "Well it's a long time since I put body armour [on] and had a helmet [on].
Mr Farthing is now doing similar work in Ukraine, saving strays and abandoned pets as Vladimir Putin's bombs rain down from the skies (@PenFarthing/Twitter)
His charity Nowzad is supporting shelters in Ukraine as they try to protect the animals (@PenFarthing/Twitter)"But we're here, we're heading off, away from Kramatorsk, basically towards the frontline of the conflict to the people who are still there, still living. And to those that are looking after animals, stray animals, animals that have been abandoned, and their owners. We have a truck full of supplies in the back here. We have a Ukrainian military escort, who are taking us there to meet some of these people that have chosen to remain behind, or have no choice but to remain behind. As there's nowhere else for them to go. So let's see what we're going to find, ey?"
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His high-profile campaign sparked debate over whether pets were being prioritised over people (@PenFarthing/Twitter)After arriving, he added: "The roads are deserted - most homes empty. There is destruction everywhere. The front line (in this area) is only a few kilometres away)." In more recent posts over the past couple of days, he reported how the area he visited was the scene of "complete destruction" where there were no people or animals could survive. He also called for Russia to be "held accountable for these war crimes against the Ukrainian people". "I am just numb. I have never seen destruction on a scale such as this… whatever you can do to support ukraine please do. #UkraineMustWin," he added.
US Marines seen through a barbed fence at Kabul's Karzai Airport on August 26 2021 amid the US withdrawl and subsequent Taliban takeover of the capital (AP)Today marks two years since the Taliban seized power after the US and NATO forces withdrew following two gruelling decades of war. Twenty-four months on, the ultra-conservative former militia face no significant opposition that could topple them. They have avoided internal divisions by falling in line behind their ideologically unbending leader. They have kept a struggling economy afloat, in part by holding investment talks with capital-rich regional countries, even as the international community withholds formal recognition. They have improved domestic security through crackdowns on armed groups such as the Islamic State, and say they are fighting corruption and opium production.
But it's their slew of bans on Afghan girls and women that dominated the Taliban's second year in charge. They barred them from parks, gyms, universities, and jobs at nongovernmental groups and the United Nations - all in the space of a few months - allegedly because they weren't wearing proper hijab - the Islamic head covering - or violated gender segregation rules. These orders followed a previous ban, issued in the first year of Taliban rule, on girls going to school beyond sixth grade.
The Taliban say they are committed to implementing their interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, in Afghanistan. This leaves no space for anything they think is foreign or secular, such as women working or studying. It's what drove them in the late 1990s, when they first seized power in Afghanistan, and it propels them now, ever since they took control again on Aug. 15, 2021.
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