<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/14/evacuees-us-withdrawal-afghanistan>
"Afghan citizens who fled the country with American assistance after the US’s
chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan remain stranded in third countries, new
documents shared exclusively with the
Guardian suggest, some at prison-like
facilities and many with no clarity about their prospects for resettlement.
US officials won’t say exactly how many Afghans remain at such sites, where
they were taken after the withdrawal that involved hundreds of thousands
fleeing for their lives during the Taliban’s lightning takeover in 2021. Some
advocates estimate that “hundreds” remain stranded in temporary facilities in
up to three dozen countries.
A set of government records published on Tuesday offers previously undisclosed
details about the US government’s involvement with operations at these sites.
The records describe family separations, deteriorating mental health
conditions, inadequate facilities and fears of forcible repatriation.
The documents, which offer a snapshot up to the fall of 2023, were obtained by
the Center for Constitutional Rights, Abolitionist Law Center and Muslim
Advocates following litigation against the Departments of Defense, State and
Homeland Security.
Sadaf Doost, an attorney and human rights program manager at Abolitionist Law
Center, told the
Guardian that advocates filed the records requests to seek
information about conditions at a half dozen sites where they knew Afghans were
being held. But the documents they obtained indicate that evacuated Afghans
with pending applications to enter the US have been “detained, held, or
otherwise forced to remain in limbo” in at least 36 countries, the groups wrote
in a briefing guide.
“Other records we’ve obtained reveal letters upon letters of tireless appeals
Afghan nationals made to US government officials – from detailing the lack of
access to US embassies, lawyers and humanitarian and immigration-rights
organizations to the untenable conditions to the collective trauma the
community continues to endure,” Doost added."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
