A Must Read Book For Animal Lovers - And People Lovers.

Note: The views expressed in this book review are those of the review's author, not necessarily those of Selfishgenie Publishing. No payments or inducements were received for this review and the author purchased the book at his own expense.

​In my book reviews I only award 5 stars to books that have had some profound effect on me, so you can tell immediately that “Operation Ark” by Pen Farthing (full name Paul Pen Farthing) had that sort of effect and not always in a good way.
 
Well, It did have some uplifting parts and I’ll get to them later, but mainly I read this book with horror that a lack of foresight and planning could lead to such tragedy.

​Because this is the story of real events that took place almost exactly three years ago .
 
It is not the job of this review to editorialise about who might be to blame for what happened. However, should you choose to read this book, I am confident that you will be drawn to the same conclusions as me.
 
Not only were these events disastrous for the country of Afghanistan, but they also ruined the life of a man who was trying his hardest to make something good come out of the chaos he was witnessing around him.
 
The story starts in 2020 when President Trump signed a treaty with the Taliban for the final withdrawal of American troops from that country. He did so without consulting either the existing Afghan government or his allies in the west. In 2021 his successor, President Biden, implemented that treaty and ordered the withdrawal of American troops. Only he didn’t tell anyone on what date that would happen.

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"but hundreds of people died trying to flee the country"

Unprepared for events, Afghanistan descended into chaos. What happened is a matter of public record, but hundreds of people died trying to flee the country and more have died since because they were denied the opportunity to get out before the Taliban completed their takeover of Afghanistan.

​I am referring to the Afghans who had worked with the western allies and therefore would be targeted by the new regime. Twelve American marines also died while trying to police the crowds at Kabul airport, when a suicide bomber set off his device.
 
Against this background a former Royal Marine turned charity worker decided that the animals he and his team had rescued would not fare well under the new regime and he  must do whatever he could to get them out of the country. His staff of dedicated veterinarians and animal welfare workers had close ties to the western allies and so they were considered to be vulnerable and everything possible had to be done to help them leave the country as well
 
This should have been a simple matter.
 
1. Apply for permission for the Afghan charity workers to enter a safe country, namely the United Kingdom, demonstrating why they were at risk.
2. Apply for import licences to the UK for the animals, providing medical certificates to prove they didn’t represent a health risk.
3. Arrange, at the charity’s expense, for a charter flight to land at Kabul airport to transport both the animals and the people.
4. Leave the country.

"That Pen Farthing succeeded at all must be regarded as something of a miracle."

​Over the next couple of hundred pages the story of what really happened is told by the author. That simple four step process took almost 2 months to organise against a backdrop of chaotic local conditions and the inept British government and public servants. The charity’s chartered aircraft was one of the last to leave the country.
 
That Pen Farthing succeeded at all must be regarded as something of a miracle. In the end, while he was able to get the animals out by air, the charity’s staff had to undertake a lengthy and dangerous cross country journey to leave the country through the border with Pakistan, which led to several more weeks of suffering for them.

"a lie will run around the world while the truth is still tying its boot laces."

But the worst, perhaps, was about to come, at least for Pen Farthing. The British government needed a distraction from their own incompetence and Pen Farthing was to provide that. His name was dragged through the mud in the British and international media through a series of carefully managed leaks to the press, accusing him of putting animals before people, endangering the lives of both Afghans and British soldiers.
 
The accusations were false but as the old saying goes, a lie will run around the world while the truth is still tying its boot laces.
 
Pen Farthing’s reputation has still not recovered. And that is before you take into account the cost to his personal life.
 
I have fact checked as much of this book as possible to ensure that what Pen Farthing has said stands up under scrutiny.
 
It does.
 
After reading this book I wonder if the country I live in is the country I thought it was. I wasn’t present in Afghanistan during the events described, but the emotions this book raised in me make me feel as though I might have been. It certainly made me very angry at times.
 
So, what was the uplifting part of the book referred to at the start of this review?
 
It is the way that Pen Farthing and his team, some operating from distant locations around the world, managed to save the lives of so many animals and people. Whether you like animals or not doesn’t matter, because there are human stories to celebrate as well.
 
This book should be a set text for leadership and teamwork training, but sadly Pen Farthing’s undeservedly damaged reputation will prevent it ever becoming that.
 
I cannot recommend Pen Farthing’s book “Operation Ark” highly enough. To find out more about it, click here.
 
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