Thousands of Afghans are trying to leave their country, and an unknown number have camped for days near Kabul's airport, desperately trying to be allowed inside so they can escape.
Many are Afghans who worked for organizations in the West, NATO armies and the U.S. military.
They and their families are intent on leaving because they fear their lives are in danger. Or that their futures will be impossible under the Taliban doctrine and a strict interpretation of sharia law.
Western countries are preparing for an increase in immigration. And more barriers are being built to stem unofficial migration along the borders of Greece and Turkey.
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The Spanish hub
The fortunate ones are beginning to arrive in European capitals. Almost 150 people were among the first wave evacuated from the Afghan capital to a military base outside Madrid. Spanish authorities are preparing for more, with a field of tents being set up to house 1,000 people.
"This Spanish hub, this European hub, organized to provide support and any held to our Afghan collaborators and refugees, represents the values and principles of the European Union," said Pedro Sanchez, Spain's prime minister.
The Spanish hub will receive Afghan refugees who have worked with EU institutions. People arriving will be tested for COVID-19, and then they will move on to different EU countries.
According to the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, there's a moral obligation to help. And she added that the EU is committed to supporting NGOs operating inside Afghanistan.
"If we look at the number of internally displaced people, it is the largest number, it is 3.7 million almost, and 80 percent of them are women and girls and children. They are the most at risk," she said.
"So, we must help ensure that displaced Afghans can safely return to their homes or have at least a perspective whether they are currently in Afghanistan or the neighboring countries."
A person trying to hand a baby to the American army outside the airport in Kabul. /OMAR HAIDARI/via Reuters
Greece re-enforces border defenses
At the same time, new barriers are being built along national borders.
Greece's government said a new 40-kilometer fence and a surveillance system are in place along a part of its border with Turkey.
They are concerned instability in Afghanistan could lead to an increase in migrants, especially, as the 2015 conflict in Syria brought almost a million migrants into Europe.
"We're a European country working inside the European Union, and decisions are made within this framework. But we can't wait passively for any possible impact, said Greece's minister for Citizens Protection, Michalis Chrisochoidis.
He oversees crime and crisis management in Greece.
New barriers are also being built along Turkey's border with Iran. And a wall has already been erected along its Syrian border.
Migration into Greece, Spain and Italy hasn't stopped since the large influx of 2015. But migrant arrivals in Greece, especially the Greek islands off the Turkish coast, have slowed significantly since the 2016 EU deal with Turkey to stop people crossing the border in exchange for financial support.
A group of evacuee children waiting at Hamid Karzai International Airport for their flight out of Afghanistan. / Mark Andries/ U.S. Marine Corps via Reuters
Merkel criticizes U.S. withdrawal
It is possibly because of the deal that 3.5 million Syrian refugees have remained in Turkey. Thousands in Afghanistan seem desperate to leave. Kabul's main airport is inundated as Afghans camp out by the airport - despite the dangers - in the hope that they'll be allowed to fly out.
The U.S. and NATO withdrawals from Afghanistan are anything but orderly. Angela Merkel, Germany's Chancellor, said as much in Berlin in front of an applauding audience at an election campaign event.
"The situation in Afghanistan dramatically escalated about a week ago with the Taliban's capture of Kabul," she said.
She went on to say the Afghan government and army collapsed at a "breathtaking pace, and we had estimated this resilience to be stronger."
Merkel is now focused on rescuing as many German citizens and the citizens of other NATO countries as possible, as well as local forces. Tens of thousands of Afghans and their close family members are still waiting to be evacuated after the Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan.
Video editor: Jim Ireland