Students have weighed in on President Joe Biden’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, telling the commander-in-chief to “do something” about the thousands of Americans left stranded in the country after Biden bungled the U.S. withdrawal.
Campus Reform‘s Addison Smith asked students their thoughts about Americans being stranded in Afghanistan in a recent video. One student said, “I think that’s probably something that could have been avoided.”
“It’s not very clear to me why they are not evacuating all of them,” another student said.
HAMID KARZAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, AFGHANISTAN – AUGUST 22: This handout image shows A Marine with the 24th Marine Expeditionary unit (MEU) passes out water to evacuees during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 22. U.S. service members are assisting the Department of State with a Non-combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) in Afghanistan. (Photo by Sgt. Isaiah Campbell / U.S. Marine Corps via Getty Images)
“I do, periodically, find it hard to believe that there’s not more we could be doing to get those people out,” a third responded.
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“I think it definitely was a big oversight by Biden to not have a plan in place,” another student answered. “It kind of seems like they don’t have a plan, even now.”
“They definitely should have had some sort of plan that was going to be better than having people trapped,” another said.
As for what the students would say to Biden if they could send him a message, one said, “I don’t know, just, like, do something.”
In this Aug. 20, 2021, photo provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, a Marine assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit carries a girl at a gate to Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. (1st Lt. Mark Andries/U.S. Marine Corps via AP)
“Please, please, please pay attention to everyone,” another student begged. “Don’t forget about the people that you left behind, the interpreters, the women, the children — I mean, you can get every single American out, and I really hope you do, but please don’t forget about the people you’re leaving behind.”
“They can’t just keep on saying, ‘We don’t know what to do right now.’ They need to come up with policies, and to help the Americans there, along with the Afghans,” another student said of the Biden administration.
“And if you don’t [do something], that’s how history is going to remember you,” another student said.
In another recent video interview conducted by Campus Reform, reporter Ophelie Jacobson asked students at the University of Central Florida if they believe the United States oppresses women — and then told them about what it is like for women in Afghanistan.
“Would you say that women are oppressed here [in the United States]?” asked Jacobson, to which all of the students reportedly said yes. Students also expressed that it is hard to be a woman in the United States.
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But when Jacobson told students about the treatment that women receive under the Taliban, the students appeared shocked, with one student suggesting Afghan women come to the United States — a country she, moments earlier, expressed was oppressive towards women.
“Something that we should think about is refugees coming to the United States, and maybe be more open about letting these people find asylum here,” the student said.
“It makes me very nervous for — especially the young girls growing up — who might not be able to get an education,” another answered.
“It’s kind of, like, a really, like, extreme version of, like, sexism and misogyny,” a third said.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.