Afghans in Pakistan feel betrayal after Trump cancels refugee resettlement
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Afghan citizens, who are in the process for resettlement in the US attend English language class on the outskirts of Islamabad, January 22, 2025. — Reuters
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ISLAMABAD: An executive order signed by President Donald Trump suspending the entry of refugees into the United States, Islamabad. This is a source of concern for Afghans living in the United States who are awaiting resettlement in the United States.
Syed Haseebullah, a 20-year-old teacher, said the normally excited students were silent or crying in class after the news broke on Tuesday.
Some feel betrayed, many of whom — including those who fled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan — have already spent years in exile.
“It was a really scary moment for us. We have been waiting for almost three years and now there is no hope,” he told Reuters at the school in Islamabad.
The sudden delay has derailed the plans of many Afghans in Pakistan and left them in despair after extensive vetting and preparing for new lives in America.
In an intermediate language class, about half of which was processing US visa applications, a 16-year-old girl broke down in tears.
“I feel very bad about this news,” she said, unable to concentrate on her work – practicing a list of English phrases for giving formal presentations that was written on the class whiteboard.
After being barred from attending school in Afghanistan, she hopes to attend high school in the United States.
The tuition academy, which has about 300 students, is one of the few places available to study for many Afghans waiting for U.S. visas. They cannot legally work or study formally in Pakistan.
Sean Van Dever, founder of #AfghanEvac, a leading coalition of rehabilitation and veterans groups, said there are 10,000-15,000 Afghan refugees in Pakistan awaiting special immigration visas or resettlement in the US.
Many people have waited years after receiving instructions when applying to go to a third country for processing. For many, the only option was Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan but, facing economic and security crises, began deporting tens of thousands of Afghans in 2023.
A spokesman for Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the US announcement.
Flights cancelled?
About 1,660 Afghans, including families of active-duty U.S. military personnel, cleared by the U.S. government to resettle in the U.S. have been admitted to the U.S. refugee program, Reuters reported on Monday. are canceling their flights under the suspension order.
One of Haseebullah’s students, Fatima, has no idea whether an official email she received on Jan. 14 — and seen by Reuters — told her family’s travel arrangements to the United States. Documents have been called for.
The 57-year-old women’s rights and development advocate who worked for years for US-aided organizations in central Daikundi province started learning English a few months ago.
He said he had never thought of leaving Afghanistan in the first place and that he and many others trusted the United States — which led foreign forces in Afghanistan for two decades, now collapsing. Backed the government and spent billions of dollars on human rights and development programs.
“You supported us and nurtured us then we worked with you and then you called us to a third country (for visa processing) and now you are doing something similar,” he said. .
In addition to concerns about her safety after her advocacy work, Fatima is especially concerned about her 15-year-old daughter. She hopes she can attend school in the U.S. years after high school, and her 22-year-old daughter can finish her engineering degree.
Many students and teachers said they had contacted UN agencies and the US embassy this week and were sharing whatever information they could find on the Internet in WhatsApp groups. But there were few clear answers.
The US embassy and the State Department did not immediately comment on questions from Reuters about whether the new order would affect Afghans waiting in Pakistan for visas.
“We’ve been here for three years hoping that America would go and be safe, but now that President Donald Trump came in … and told us we’re not going to process this case or maybe we’re going to delay it. , you have really been cheated,” Haseebullah said.
“I just wanted to respectfully tell them that we have helped you and now we expect you to help us.”
