Latest news with #AfghanRefugees
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
State Department Plans to Close Office That Aids Afghan Refugees
The US State Department has notified Congress that it will shut down the office that helped resettle Afghan refugees who assisted the American war effort, provoking an outcry from nonprofit groups that helped evacuate people when the Taliban retook control of the country in 2021. The elimination of the Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts was disclosed in a letter to Congress outlining efforts to reorganize the department. A copy of the document was seen by Bloomberg News. The office's functions will be 'realigned' to the Afghanistan Affairs Office and the role of special representative for Afghan reconstruction will also be eliminated.
Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- General
- Globe and Mail
In its bid to rescue Afghans, Ottawa is fracturing their families
Every few days, I text a 22-year-old Afghan woman hiding in Pakistan to make sure the men have not come to her door and dragged her, along with her three teenaged brothers and sisters, into a van headed to the northern border. When they appear on Wazhma's street – the bearded guys with Taliban links who've said they want to force her into a marriage back home in Kabul, or the mustachioed guys from the Pakistani military who are on a campaign to deport Afghans – she orders her siblings to turn off all the lights and crouch silently in the back room. Wazhma is far from a passive victim. In fact, she's a recognized expert in this particular fate, having a job with an organization that protects Afghan girls from forced marriage. And she's worked for journalists, including me, as a credited researcher and translator for my reporting, with Zia Rehman, on the flight of Afghans. What makes her case frustrating, for her and for those of us who are trying to get her out of that apartment, is that she is part of a Canadian family. They were among the many Afghans who fled during the Taliban takeover in the summer of 2021, because they'd worked for Western organizations despised by the theocratic regime. Wazhma's father died during the flight. Opinion: The Afghan refugee crisis is a migratory time bomb that may soon go off Her mother and older sister, who married a Canadian in the 2010s, live in Mississauga, Ont., where they are legal residents, and are well on their way to citizenship; her mother had to come to Toronto without her kids to get refugee status. Hers is one of many families that have been divided across continents, often for years and under great threat, by a structural flaw in Canada's immigration systems. Contrary to the federal Liberal pledge to focus on permanent immigration and reunification of families rather than temporary individuals, the rules tend to divide families into individual cases. This often forces children, parents and siblings to apply separately, wait years longer, and sometimes get rejected multiple times. Afghans are far from the only victims of that flaw, but often face danger because of it. Wazhma has fallen into one of that system's many paradoxes. At 22, she is one year too old to be considered a 'dependent child' under Canadian rules; the fact that she cares for her three young siblings means she can't apply as an individual through most refugee, labour or educational pathways, since Ottawa doesn't recognize sibling relationships as 'dependants,' so the children would be left stranded in Pakistan. Though programs were created to handle such special cases, they generated years-long waitlists and have mostly been shut down. After a year of work on Wazhma's case by a circle of people including a number of prominent Canadians, we finally secured three refugee-sponsorship slots through a charitable organization this year. Ottawa was adamant that the children would each have to be processed as separate refugee claims – and that there wasn't a spot for the fourth child, who will have to be the subject of an appeal. Despite the danger she faces, Wazhma will likely have to wait until 2026 to get here. Afghan women activists in Pakistan fear deportation as country cracks down on refugees She is more fortunate than Naveed Mazaher, another Afghan hiding in Pakistan whose case was brought to my attention by his Canadian sponsors. His tight-knit family was admitted as part of Ottawa's rescue program in 2021, when he was 25, because his sister had worked for the Canadian government, and they together faced Taliban threats as a result. Last year, Ottawa told him to move to Islamabad so he could await his humanitarian visa and join his family in Canada. Then, last October, Mr. Mazaher was told that his visa had been cancelled. The timing, just as the Trudeau government was shutting down every immigration and refugee stream to reduce numbers, wasn't surprising. The reason, according to a letter he received from an immigration official, was: Mr. Mazaher's wife is an Afghan with Russian dual citizenship, earned by her family during the Soviet occupation (they'd not lived there or learned the language). Therefore, the official wrote, 'I have determined that you have a durable solution in Russia because you are married to a Russian citizen … which provides a pathway to permanent residence in Russia.' That Canada would, in 2025, consider Russia a safe third country for an Afghan male of military-conscription age is almost unthinkable. Mr. Mazaher is now subject to a federal court challenge that will cost his Canadian sponsors and relatives tens of thousands of dollars, and the Canadian government more. There is expert consensus, as I observed in a recent essay, that Canada's immigration system produces better integration and economic outcomes if it keeps families together. At the moment, it often seems perversely engineered to drive them apart.
Arab News
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
‘What if this were me?': Pakistani-Dutch filmmaker amplifies Afghan voices challenging refugee stereotypes
ISLAMABAD: Anya Raza was in Washington and watched with the whole world in disbelief as the Afghan capital of Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, marking an end to two decades of United States-led intervention. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ The chaos that unfolded moved the Pakistani-Dutch writer and filmmaker to reach out to the Afghans, who desperately sought to relocate to safety, as well as humanitarian and other workers involved in the process. Their tales of love, loss, devastation and despair compelled Raza to document these heart-wrenching stories to humanize the Afghan refugee crisis for the world, which largely seemed to be indifferent to the chaos. Her film, 'On the Mountain,' based on true stories Raza encountered during the interviews, challenges stereotypes and offers a deeply human perspective on the plight of Afghan refugees, according to the filmmaker. 'I interviewed a lot of refugees, people working with refugees, humanitarian workers, case workers, resettlement officers, and others involved. Time and again, I was struck by the sheer devastation, loss, and the immense decisions people had to make just to keep uprooting their families, to keep them safe,' Raza told Arab News, on the sidelines of the Women International Film Festival in Islamabad last week. 'After 20 years of war, the voices of Afghan people weren't reaching the international stage, despite all the sacrifices they made, despite the destruction. It felt like a way for me to lend my voice as an artist, to break some of the silos.' The 13-minute film captures the dilemma of an Afghan woman teacher who is caught between love, family and the unforgiving realities of the conflict, forced to make heartbreaking choices. Set against the backdrop of a turbulent Kabul in 2021, Raza says the film is both a 'social and political statement' that challenges stereotypes and biases relating to refugees and offers audiences a chance to reflect on the human characters behind headlines. 'There are a lot of prejudices, biases, and stereotypes when it comes to refugees — their role in communities, how they are perceived,' she said. 'This film is an invitation into an Afghan home, into the love and tough decisions that a family must make. It lets viewers ask, 'What if this were me?'' But for Raza, whose work has sparked discussions around identity, nationality and human rights, bringing the film to life was not without challenges. 'For artists, it's always difficult to secure funding for projects. You might find money, but it's harder to find people who align with your values,' she said. The film continues to connect with audiences around the world and evokes powerful emotions and reflections from the attendees at the Islamabad festival. But despite the effort, the reality has drastically changed for many Afghan refugees since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan and thousands of them fled to Pakistan to seek refuge there, according to the filmmaker. Today, those same refugees face forced repatriation and are being driven back to the uncertainty they once escaped. 'It breaks my heart to see Afghans who have lived here their whole lives, who felt that Pakistan was their home, [are] now being forced to leave without any of their belongings,' Raza said. Pakistan has repatriated approximately 1.3 million Afghan refugees in a deportation drive launched since Nov. 2023, according to officials. The drive was launched after Islamabad witnessed a surge in suicide attacks and militancy that it blamed on Afghan nationals, without providing evidence. The government in Islamabad initially said it was focusing on expelling foreigners with no legal documentation and other categories, such as Afghan Citizen Card (ACC)-- a document launched in 2017 to grant temporary legal status to Afghan refugees— would be included later. This year, Pakistan's interior ministry asked all ACC holders to leave the country by March and started deporting them from April 1. In total, Pakistan has hosted over 2.8 million Afghan refugees who crossed the border during 40 years of conflict in their homeland. Raza urged Islamabad to reconsider its decision to expel Afghan refugees: 'It's very important that they have their basic human rights, their dignity, that they're safe.'
Fox News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Afghans for Trump group feels abandoned after administration revokes refugee protections
A group that once campaigned to put Donald Trump in the White House now says they feel abandoned by his administration's decision to revoke legal protections for thousands of Afghan refugees living in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Zoubair Sangi, the leader of the "Afghans for Trump" movement, formed after the chaotic 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, said his community turned to Trump after the Biden administration's exit left their homeland in turmoil. Now, he is urging the president to reconsider. "The reality is that Afghanistan is not safe," Sangi told Fox News. "Over the last three years, since the return of the Taliban, the country has been as dangerous as ever." He said the Department of Homeland Security's claim of an "improved security situation" fails to reflect the reality on the ground. "The Taliban, at the end of the day, are a terrorist group," he said. "They target anyone who disagrees with them – anyone who worked with the U.S. government or allied forces. Their lives are in grave danger." Sangi added that women face especially grim conditions in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where they are banned from education and public life without a male escort. "They view women as subservient. They treat them worse than cattle," he said. "There is no freedom for ordinary Afghans. It's a prison. People are essentially under house arrest, and they can't escape." Despite his frustration, Sangi said he has not withdrawn his support for Trump – but he is pleading with him to rethink the decision. "We do have hope that any kind of mistake that is made specifically in regards to Afghanistan will be corrected." He praised Trump for refusing to recognize the Taliban and ending foreign aid to Afghanistan that fell into their hands, and he urged him not to strike any deals. "The Taliban mock America, reject your demands for the return of our $7 billion in military equipment, and harbor terrorists who threaten our homeland," said Sangi. "Engaging with them isn't America First." On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security officially ended TPS for Afghan nationals, potentially forcing more than 9,000 individuals to return to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem cited an "improved security situation" and a stabilizing economy as justification. "This administration is returning TPS to its original, temporary intent," Noem said. "We've reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation." Afghans' protected status is set to expire on May 20, with the program formally ending on July 12. Noem added that terminating the designation aligns with the administration's broader goal of rooting out fraud and national security threats in the immigration system. TPS allows foreign nationals from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters or other emergencies to live and work legally in the U.S. Then-President Joe Biden had originally designated Afghanistan for TPS following the Taliban's takeover in 2021. While many Afghans who assisted the U.S. military during the two-decade war arrived under the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, others – including former Afghan government workers and those tied to U.S. missions – entered under TPS amid the post-withdrawal chaos. These individuals now face potential deportation. Former Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul argued against the assertion that the security situation had improved, and urged the administration against moving to revoke the immigration status of Afghans here on SIVs or P1 and P2 visas. The Taliban, he said, "have made their thirst for retribution against those who help the United States clear. Until they demonstrate substantial behavorial changes, I urge the administration to continue prioritizing the safety of the Afghan men and women who risked their lives to help our troops." Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and DHS with requests for comment.
Arab News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistani official says 1.3 million Afghans repatriated since November 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have repatriated approximately 1.3 million Afghan refugees in a deportation drive launched since November 2023, Parliamentary Secretary Mukhtar Ahmad Malik said on Wednesday, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported. Pakistan launched a repatriation drive of foreign citizens that began in November 2023, with thousands of Afghan nationals expelled since. The government initially said it was first focusing on expelling foreigners with no legal documentation and other categories, such as Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) — a document launched in 2017 to grant temporary legal status to Afghan refugees — would be included later. Earlier this year, the country's interior ministry asked all 'illegal foreigners' and ACC holders to leave the country before Mar. 31, warning that they would otherwise be deported from April 1. Authorities subsequently started deporting thousands of Afghan nationals from all parts of the country. 'Parliamentary Secretary Mukhtar Ahmad Malik informed the National Assembly on Wednesday that approximately 1.3 million Afghan refugees have been repatriated from Pakistan so far,' APP reported. Responding to a question raised by lawmaker Anjum Aqeel Khan during a parliamentary session, Malik said around 3 million Afghan refugees were residing in Pakistan. 'Of these, 813,000 hold Afghan Citizen Cards (ECC) while 1.3 million possess Proof of Registration (PoR) cards,' he was quoted as saying. He emphasized that Afghan nationals who wish to enter Pakistan for medical treatment, education, or business purposes are welcome to do so provided they obtain a Pakistani visa and carry valid documentation with them. In total, Pakistan has hosted over 2.8 million Afghan refugees who crossed the border during 40 years of conflict in their homeland. The deportation drive was launched in November 2023 after Islamabad witnessed a surge in suicide attacks and militancy that it blamed on Afghan nationals, without providing evidence. Local and international rights organizations have accused Pakistani authorities of harassing Afghan nationals while forcefully repatriating them. The same has been accused by the Afghan Taliban, who have called on Islamabad to allow its nationals to return to their homeland with dignity. Islamabad denies the harassment allegations and says it is ensuring Afghan nationals are deported with dignity.
