The Sparrows of Kabul

by Fred Smith

The Sparrows of Kabul is Fred Smith's personal account of the mission to evacuate visa and passport holders from Kabul International Airport (KIA) in the two weeks after the city fell to the Taliban in August 2021. Soldiers and diplomats worked 20-hour days, in uncertain and difficult conditions, to help people in through the airport gates and out of Afghanistan. Meanwhile millions around the world worked their phones all hours of the night, desperate to extract friends, family and former colleagues braving the human cattle yards outside the gates of Kabul airport in a lastditch dash for freedom. This is not an official history but an extraordinary first-hand account touching on the things that trust and transparency, hope and despair, sleep and insomnia, creativity and bureaucracy, self-help and self-sacrifice, family and friendship.

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About the author

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Reviews

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This very personal memoir about the evacuation of Kabul after it fell to the Taliban in 2021 puts a human face on the appalling scenes we watched on our tv's and on some of the news reporting at the time. Apart from Fred Smith's story, it also gave real insight into the work of Australia's Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, and Defence Force staff as well as their relationships with locally engaged staff and the Afghan community. Some parts of the story were particularly harrowing and it was easy to see why these events left a mark on everyone involved.

I liked the way the book used stories from Smith's long involvement in Afghanistan to give context to his reactions. The addendum by Ric Smith was particularly valuable in giving broader context to Australia's involvement as well as the dilemmas faced by the US Government.

This book does not pretend to be fine literature or an elaborate intellectual analysis, it is a personal introspection. Listening to Smith's music and songs about Afghanistan while I read the book made it a very emotional, but worthwhile, journey. Highly recommended.

[John Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fred Smith has marked a significant milestone in his long involvement with Afghanistan by describing, with the benefit of first hand experience, the evacuation conducted at Karzai International Airport after Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021. This very personal Australian account captures the anguish of hopes dashed, the joy of escapes made, the consequences of failures, and the limits of success.

The book is written in his self-deprecating style, familiar to those who enjoy his music or who have read his previous work. His graphic account of the work of his DFAT and ADF colleagues reveals just how much their efforts go unnoticed.

Unlike many first hand accounts, the action does not revolve solely around the author. Smith paints the whole picture, as viewed from his involvement but not limited to it.

Very highly recommended.

[Diana Trendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harrowing but fascinating

[Laurie · Rating 1 out of 5]

inaccurate.