Oates on Afghanistan withdrawal

Dr. Lauryn Oates

Associate faculty member Dr. Lauryn Oates, an expert in education in conflict regions and executive director at Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, has been speaking to media as Western forces evacuate from Afghanistan and the Taliban seize control.

Here is some of what she had to say to CTV Calgary:

Lauryn Oates, the executive director with Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan (CW4WAfghan), says the situation is evolving at tremendous speed and creating difficulty for her team to provide support.

“People are terrified, they haven't had time to organize, there is sheer fear and there’s been a panic to leave the country as it’s becoming sealed in,” Oates said.

“There is fighting right now at the Kabul airport, which is the main way people were departing because the roads out of the country are not safe, borders are controlled by the Taliban, and that may be the end of people's ability to actually exit the situation.”

Watch. listen and read Oates’ interviews with CBC On the Coast, CTV Calgary and CHEK News.