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So he got the dogs out and left the people behind?!

445 replies

Sillysuzie · 31/08/2021 08:39

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/30/britain-dogs-afghan-people-pen-farthing

OP posts:
Parker231 · 31/08/2021 12:00

Would be good if people read the details of what happened.
This was a privately funded flight where seats in the passenger area were offered to the British government to fill with Afghans entitled to come to the U.K.. The Talibans refused to get Afghans into the airport including the charity’s staff.

The flight left after the MoD flights.

This story has been brilliant for the U.K. government as it has distracted people from the failure of the government to bring out those people they should of.

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 31/08/2021 12:00

Was it wrong, was it right?

Maybe it was, maybe it was't. But it was to him and he was there, doing everything humanly possible for his cause.

Maybe if the armchair warriors of MN had been there and done the same for their chosen cause, then things would have been different? But they weren't, they didn't fight for their cause in Kabul, they do it from their armchair of from their kitchen table.

nancy75 · 31/08/2021 12:00

downinthedoldrums his wife may be Norwegian, she still managed to get to the airport days before any of the staff.

MyDogTails · 31/08/2021 12:01

Where are those animals now? I read he left for Oslo and they're in quarantine for two weeks - is that right?

I am looking forward to hearing his account today on the Jeremy Vine show but I wish his staff had got out and were in quarantine here in the UK for 2 weeks now.

Ionlydomassiveones · 31/08/2021 12:03

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn at the poster's request.

CBUK2K2 · 31/08/2021 12:05

@TheFairyCaravan So you're saying we should have put people in the hold of the aircraft?

FlowerPower3110 · 31/08/2021 12:07

Have a Biscuit OP.

Pen didn't choose to leave people behind, the Taliban wouldn't let them go through.

Plumtree391 · 31/08/2021 12:07

@gardeninggirl68

Good....I'm glad! He's safe and managed to get a few animals out too!
Yes! It's good news.
Plumtree391 · 31/08/2021 12:09

@MyDogTails

Where are those animals now? I read he left for Oslo and they're in quarantine for two weeks - is that right?

I am looking forward to hearing his account today on the Jeremy Vine show but I wish his staff had got out and were in quarantine here in the UK for 2 weeks now.

We all wish that. Pen certainly wishes it. However it wasn't possible.
Doodlebug71 · 31/08/2021 12:09

@RobinPenguins

He’s a prick so my instinct is to feel he’s got blood on his hands but really it’s whoever made the decision to spend a second of time getting the crates of animals through the airport while there were eligible people who could have been assisted getting into and through the airport.
He's not a prick. I strongly suggest you find out who he is, and what his history is before you write thing like that on a forum visible to millions.

There is no blood on his hands. He offered the seats on his place to anyone who could take them.

The only people able to assist those trying to get out didn't. They just didn't. That's down to the UK govt. Nothing to do with Farthing. All he did was try to get his own staff and their families out, alongside scores of other charter flights trying to get people out.

Just 10 days ago, the reports were of the UK and US govt failing utterly in their promises to evacuate those who'd worked with and supported them. Ten days later, and the UK govt has found their scapegoat.

This:

While the US and UK say their evacuations are gathering pace, there seems to be little sign of that on the ground in Kabul, where many Afghans are stuck outside the airport or behind checkpoints that seem impossible to pass.

Still the crowds are gathering in their thousands, willing to risk their lives, and their children’s lives, for fear of what lies ahead at home now.

Almost none are getting out. Flights are leaving Afghanistan empty, or carrying mostly foreign citizens. There are some Afghans who manage to successfully run the gauntlet of Taliban checkpoints, surging crowds and foreign military to make it inside the compound.

But they are mostly people with links to the western military and its embassies. An expanded US scheme covers those who worked for western media or NGOs. But Britain has excluded many, including contractors and those who worked for embassy affiliates such as the British Council."

From here: www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/20/desperate-crowds-empty-flights-and-rage-in-afghanistan-at-governments-who-failed-to-plan
"

NiceTwin · 31/08/2021 12:10

I am surprised there was a plane big enough to accommodate his ego.
The guy's a prick.

TractorAndHeadphones · 31/08/2021 12:12

It’s possible to disapprove of Pen Farthing, hold the government to account AND help current refugees y’know. Our brains aren’t that small that we can do only one of these things. We don’t have to ‘focus our anger’ on one.

jollygoose · 31/08/2021 12:13

How ignorant of the facts Sillysuzie the man is a hero who did everything possible to get his staff out. Both the US and the British goverment stuffed up big time not Pen Farthing.

lockdownmadnessdotcom · 31/08/2021 12:14

Or that it didn’t cost his staff. They were all ready to leave on a military flight. He refused to go without the animals and in the end the people were left behind

This was my understanding too. So the animals got out, and the people were left behind.

nancy75 · 31/08/2021 12:14

@jollygoose

How ignorant of the facts Sillysuzie the man is a hero who did everything possible to get his staff out. Both the US and the British goverment stuffed up big time not Pen Farthing.
Everything apart from prioritise human life over the animals
So he got the dogs out and left the people behind?!
Plumtree391 · 31/08/2021 12:14

RobinPenguins

He’s a prick so my instinct is to feel he’s got blood on his hands but really it’s whoever made the decision to spend a second of time getting the crates of animals through the airport while there were eligible people who could have been assisted getting into and through the airport.
.........
I can't believe I just read that. The man has done nothing wrong at all, if anything he has done some good. He could do no more!

lockdownmadnessdotcom · 31/08/2021 12:15

@FlowerPower3110

Have a Biscuit OP.

Pen didn't choose to leave people behind, the Taliban wouldn't let them go through.

but if he hadn't wasted time on the animals, they would have already been through and out of the country
thereisonlyoneofme · 31/08/2021 12:17

Some of the people on here should make sure of their facts before posting. Once someone starts with wrong info its like chinese whispers.

TractorAndHeadphones · 31/08/2021 12:19

@nancy75 yes this.
The blood of his staff is on his hands.
He gambled on being able to get both people and animals out - and lost.
Thé Western prioritisation of pets (not all animals, pets) over humans is disgusting.

Hoppinggreen · 31/08/2021 12:19

I heard that he was personally throwing babies off planes while swearing at British soldiers and all his animals have Rabies anyway.

OR he has embarrassed the govt and there is a smear campaign against him

Kate3150 · 31/08/2021 12:20

I just wish people would leave this story alone now. The media have gone to town on Pen Farthing and as usual twisted a lot of the facts. Everyone has their own opinion on this situation and gosh have people expressed their opinion, but let’s leave the guy alone for goodness sake.

nancy75 · 31/08/2021 12:21

There doesn’t need to be a smear campaign to make him look bad.

DancesWithTortoises · 31/08/2021 12:22

Of course he's a prick. Heroes don't threaten to destroy other people.

I'm so angry that he's got away with his bullying behaviour and that some people can't see through him.

knittingaddict · 31/08/2021 12:23

@thereisonlyoneofme

Some of the people on here should make sure of their facts before posting. Once someone starts with wrong info its like chinese whispers.
Which are facts and which are wrong? It's all very well saying get your facts right, but who are you talking to and which information is incorrect. I genuinely want to know this.

I don't have strong feelings about this, so I won't be offended if I'm wrong about something.

Doodlebug71 · 31/08/2021 12:23

@Sunbird24

Still can’t get my head around why some people are so convinced that the Taliban are going to be going round torturing Afghan dogs and cats, rather than just ignoring them and letting them fend for themselves as they did previously. There are animals in the same situation in many other countries, are we going to be required to fly plane loads of animals out from Egypt, Greece, Turkey etc as well now?
Traditional Islam regards dogs as "naajis" (impure, unclean) animals. Apparently, angels will not enter a house with a dog in it. According to the Hadith, the Prophet said that fierce dogs should be killed, but although academic sources generally agree that this was specifically related to rabid dogs, it's still often regarded as a condemnation of all dogs. Any dogs left behind are likely to be killed.

Interesting, isn't it, how people support working animals, and those used by the military, until they're injured. Then, they ignore them. It's not as if those animals even get a choice in the matter. They don't sign up, they're just selected and trained.

Otherwise, interesting "whataboutism" from you.