US website stops sale of T-shirts mocking Afghans falling from US aircraft

By Seyma Uzundere

ANKARA (AA) - On Friday a popular US shopping platform stopped the sale of T-shirts trying to make light of the deaths of Afghans desperately trying to flee the country.

Etsy, a website known for handmade products from small sellers, halted the sales of T-shirts with the words “Kabul Skydiving Club Est. 2021” showing figures of Afghan refugees falling from airplanes flying out of the capital.

The grotesque shirts are based on a real tragedy just days ago when refugees fell from a US Air Force jet leaving Kabul’s Hamid Karzai Airport.

On Monday, thousands of desperate passengers stormed the runway, fearful following the Taliban’s takeover of the country, with some even clinging to military and passenger planes during and after takeoff.

The macabre shirts led to a social media backlash, with users saying that they "make fun of the dead" and "try to take advantage of their suffering.”

Other users blasted the shirts as “disgusting.”

After the shirts disappeared from Etsy, however, they resurfaced at such platforms as Singapore-based website TShirtAtLowPrice.com.

Taking Kabul on Sunday, the Taliban effectively seized control of Afghanistan, with the president and other top officials leaving the country.

The unexpected takeover triggered a rush to flee Afghanistan, including Afghans fearing a return to Taliban rule of the 1990s, when the country was effectively a rogue state.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz.