How ‘Batik’, ‘Peci’ and a Specific Identity Helped Save Evacuees

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The guard team is descending the steps of the Indonesian Air Force plane carrying Indonesian citizens who were successfully evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan. The photo was taken on Saturday (21/8/2021) at Halim Perdana Kusuma Air Base, Jakarta.

The life of every citizen is precious. The evacuation of 26 Indonesian citizens from Afghanistan on Aug. 20 has once again proven that fundamental principle. The operation had been in preparation since July and was accelerated in mid-August 2021.

A unique story became an interesting component of the rescue mission. The story was part of the efforts of the Indonesian embassy team in Kabul and Indonesian citizens to safely travel through Kabul to get to Hamid Karzai International Airport.

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According to the operational plan designed in Jakarta, the evacuation mission began on Thursday (19/8/2021) at around 10 p.m. The embassy team together with Indonesian citizens traveled to the airport in several cars. Before leaving the embassy, the staff and citizens agreed to wear batik and wear peci (caps).

In the midst of Kabul\'s volatile security situation, this choice helped the group avoid suspicion from members of the Taliban. Despite being in a conflict area, the members of the group chose not to wear bulletproof vests. If they had worn bulletproof vests, they could have been mistaken for an armed group and been attacked.

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Tim kesehatan tengah menaiki tangga Boeing 737 TNI Angkatan Udara yang mengangkut WNI dari Kabul, Afghanistan. Sebanyak 26 WNI berhasil dievakuasi dari Kabul dan tiba di Lanud Halim Perdana Kusuma, Jakarta pada Sabtu (21/8/2021).

Batik and peci were chosen because they helped show the group’s identity as Indonesian citizens. No other country has clothes with that specific character. The director for the protection of Indonesian citizens and legal agencies at the Foreign Ministry, Judha Nugraha, who was involved in the mission, said batik and the peci characterized Indonesia and Islam.

"In Afghanistan, people know Indonesia, which is predominantly Muslim, from these characteristics," said Judha.

He explained that this characteristic was known, among others, through the close relationship between Nahdlatul Ulama and a number of Islamic communities and organizations in Afghanistan. Identification with this characteristic was very important because the Taliban militia was checking all vehicles going to the airport. The tactic of wearing batik and peci proved to be a powerful way of passing checkpoints, both those controlled by the Taliban and NATO.

The presence of people who were not on the list could have created problems.

Moreover, since Sunday (15/8) afternoon, thousands of Afghans had been trying to enter the airport. There were many stories of militia members pointing rifles at the heads of people heading for the airport. The threat was mainly directed at people who appeared to be Afghan. That fact became a concern of the evacuation team. They applied strict measures to prevent other people from infiltrating the evacuation group\'s car. The presence of people who were not on the list could have created problems.

Six hours

The trip to the airport took almost 6 hours, compared to the usual 30 minutes. There were dozens of militia members standing guard at several locations, not to mention the checkpoints that had to be passed through.

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A number of Indonesian citizens who were successfully evacuated from Kabul are preparing to disembark from a Boeing aircraft belonging to the Indonesian Air Force, Saturday (21/8/2021) morning at Halim Perdana Kusuma Air Base, Jakarta

Since Kabul had fallen to the Taliban, the group\'s members had spread throughout the city and were, in fact, in control of the Afghan capital. Some were present along the road from the Indonesian Embassy in Kabul to the airport. Some just gathered together, others brought cars confiscated from the former Afghan authorities.

At each location there was an inspection. With dozens of checkpoints, it took a long time to get through and to the airport gates. “Under normal circumstances, there were four checkpoints from the airport gate to the terminal entrance. Later, in the terminal, there were several more checkpoints," said Alto Labetubun, a conflict and security analyst who has been to Afghanistan.

The normal circumstance that Alto referred to was the period from 2002 to July 2021. "In a chaotic and uncertain situation, there were more checkpoints and everything took time to go through," he said.

Finally, at 6 a.m., the car carrying the 26 Indonesian citizens arrived at the gate guarded by NATO troops.

That night, when the evacuation mission was carried out, thousands of citizens from other countries also lined up to pass through the posts. Finally, at 6 a.m., the car carrying the 26 Indonesian citizens arrived at the gate guarded by NATO troops.

After inspection, the group was allowed to pass through the gate and onto the runway. From there, they got closer to Kencana 4.0, a plane belonging to the Indonesian Air Force that picked them up and returned them to the country.

Judha recounted that the mission to evacuate the embassy team and Indonesian citizens started as the permission to land in Kabul was received by the evacuation team. A Boeing 737-400 aircraft from the 17th Air Squadron landed at the Kabul airport on Friday (20/8) morning, just before 5 a.m. local time.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno LP Marsudi with TNI Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto when welcoming Indonesian citizens who were successfully evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan. The photo was taken on Saturday (21/8/2021) at Halim Perdana Kusuma Air Base, Jakarta.

The boarding process was fast. From landing to taking off again took less than 2 hours, with the aircraft engine still on. During the process, the Indonesian Military (TNI) special operation command team was on guard around the plane to ensure that the evacuation went smoothly.

Finally, in the early hours of Saturday (21/8), all team members and Indonesian citizens touched down safely at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in Jakarta. (RAZ)

(This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswoko)