The Plight Of Afghans: Seeking Safe Passage And A Future Beyond Borders

Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, millions of Afghans have fled the country, with many more seeking to escape. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) projected that half a million Afghans would seek to leave by the end of 2021. The US-led multinational airlift in the days following the takeover helped many international passport holders and Afghans to flee on evacuation flights from Kabul. However, many thousands who sought to escape were left behind.

Afghans are entitled to leave their country under international human rights law, which states that everyone has the right to leave their country and move freely within it. Despite this, the Taliban has expressed that they do not want Afghans to leave. In practice, the closure of Western embassies in Kabul and the difficulty in obtaining documents for travel have made it hard for Afghans to secure visas and leave the country.

Afghans seeking to leave often turn to dangerous and costly alternate routes, such as human smuggling services. Many are also stuck in limbo in neighbouring countries, awaiting visa approvals to Western countries.

Afghans are fleeing the country due to persecution, poverty, conflict, violence, and food insecurity

Afghans are fleeing their country in droves due to persecution, poverty, conflict, violence, and food insecurity. The Taliban takeover in August 2021 triggered a mass exodus, with millions seeking refuge in neighbouring countries and beyond. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that over 8 million Afghans have fled their homes or their country since 2021, creating one of the largest protracted refugee situations globally.

Persecution and Violence

Afghans who worked with foreign forces, the previous Afghan government, media, or civil society organisations are at risk of persecution and violence. The Taliban has been known to target individuals associated with the previous regime, and there are reports of Taliban authorities conducting door-to-door searches and threatening those who worked with the US and its allies. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable, facing severe restrictions on their rights to education, employment, and political representation. The Taliban has also subjected female activists to harassment, abuse, arbitrary arrest, detention, and physical and psychological torture.

Poverty and Food Insecurity

Afghanistan is facing a severe economic crisis, with international donors suspending most non-humanitarian funding and freezing assets following the Taliban takeover. This has led to a collapse in the country's economy, pushing more Afghans into poverty and food insecurity. The World Food Program estimates that over 90% of Afghans suffer from food insecurity, with millions facing acute hunger and malnutrition. The situation is further exacerbated by recurrent natural disasters, including droughts and earthquakes.

Conflict and Internal Displacement

The country has also witnessed a surge in targeted violence and armed conflict, with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documenting over 2,000 civilian casualties between August 2021 and June 2022. The conflict has led to massive internal displacement, with over 3 million Afghans displaced within their own country. Additionally, Afghanistan has been ranked as the most dangerous country in the world for four consecutive years by the Global Peace Index due to political terror, deaths from internal conflict, and high murder rates.

Challenges in Seeking Asylum

Afghans seeking asylum face significant challenges in obtaining visas and reaching safe countries. Regular visa pathways have become incredibly difficult due to Taliban checkpoints, closed consulates, and the destruction of documents for security reasons. Those who can obtain visas often face dangerous and expensive overland journeys, with smuggling services becoming increasingly costly and inaccessible for many. Afghans seeking asylum are also met with mixed responses from host countries, with some countries, like Pakistan and Iran, reluctant to accept new refugees and others, like the US, facing backlogs and bureaucratic delays in processing visa applications.

The US Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program has a backlog of tens of thousands of applicants

The US Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program has been plagued by backlogs since its launch in 2009. The program was created to provide permanent protection to Afghans who risked their lives to help US troops in Afghanistan, but tens of thousands of applicants remain stuck in the backlog.

The application process is long and complex, and the entire process should, according to the law, take no more than nine months. However, due to extreme delays, some applicants have been waiting for years for their visas to be approved. The backlog is a result of the careful vetting process that each applicant must go through, as well as the closure of most Western embassies in Kabul, which has made it difficult for Afghans to pursue their immigration cases.

In addition, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 caused a mass exodus of people from the country, with millions fleeing persecution and poverty. This put further pressure on the US visa system, as thousands of Afghans sought to leave the country. As of fall 2022, there were around 90,000 Afghans awaiting decisions on their SIVs, and the State Department has struggled to process the large number of applications.

The Biden Administration has taken steps to speed up the SIV process, and in July 2022, the Department of State and USCIS combined the Chief of Mission approval and the SIV petition into a single step. This new process allows new Afghan SIV applicants to submit only a DS-157 form along with their COM approval application. However, the backlog remains significant, and thousands of Afghans are still waiting for their visas to be approved.

Afghans are finding it difficult to obtain passports, with some having to pay bribes to Taliban officials

Since the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, hundreds of thousands of Afghans have fled the country. The Taliban takeover has resulted in a humanitarian crisis, with Afghans facing hunger, poverty, violence, and persecution. Many Afghans are seeking to leave the country due to the Taliban's repressive rule, which includes banning women from work (except in health and education sectors) and closing secondary schools for girls.

Obtaining a passport has become increasingly difficult for Afghans since the Taliban's takeover. Afghans can no longer rely on a normal bureaucratic process to obtain or renew their passports. The passport has become a lucrative source of income for Taliban officials, who demand bribes in exchange for approving passport applications. The bribery demands range from $700 to $2,500, a huge sum in the devastated Afghan economy. The Taliban has also banned the use of US dollars and other foreign currencies, further complicating the process of obtaining a passport.

The passport application process involves having one's picture taken, eyes biometrically recorded, and fingerprints taken, in addition to security frisking. The high demand for passports has led to long lines and wait times at the passport office in Kabul, with some applicants arriving as early as 5 am to secure their place in the line.

The Taliban has promised to issue up to 10,000 passports per day, but the exorbitant costs and bribery demands mean that not many Afghans can afford them. Those who cannot pay bribes have to wait outside the passport office for days to submit their applications. The Taliban has acknowledged the corruption within the passport office and has arrested hundreds of middlemen and officials involved in bribery schemes.

The Afghan passport is considered the weakest or least powerful passport in the world, with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to only a limited number of countries. Despite the challenges and difficulties, many Afghans continue to seek passports as a way to escape the country and find a better future for themselves and their families.

The Taliban takeover has resulted in widespread hunger, destitution, and segregation in Afghanistan

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has resulted in widespread hunger, destitution, and segregation. The country is facing a rapid economic decline, with the economy shrinking by up to 30% since the Taliban took control. This has led to soaring malnutrition and unemployment, with hundreds of thousands of jobs lost. The situation is particularly dire for women and girls, who have been excluded from public life and face severe restrictions on their rights to education, employment, and freedom of movement. The healthcare system is also on the brink of collapse, leaving millions at risk of malnutrition and disease.

The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has been exacerbated by the Taliban's policies and actions. The group has imposed rules and restrictions that deny women and girls their basic rights, including access to education and employment. The Taliban has also cracked down on freedom of expression, with journalists and critics of the regime facing harassment, detention, and enforced disappearance. In addition, the Taliban's interpretation of Islamic law has led to public executions and corporal punishment, such as stoning and flogging.

The economic crisis has been further worsened by the withdrawal of international support and aid. Sanctions and the termination of development aid have crippled the Afghan economy, with the country's central bank credentials being revoked, halting basic banking transactions. Skyrocketing inflation has also made it difficult for Afghans to afford food and other essential goods. The combination of economic collapse and humanitarian crisis has left millions of people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

The situation is particularly dire for vulnerable groups, including ethnic and religious minorities, such as the Hazaras, who have faced increasing marginalization, prejudice, and forced evictions. Women and girls are also at risk, with their rights and freedoms severely restricted by the Taliban. In addition, the lack of safe and legal migration pathways has left many Afghans trapped in the country, unable to access foreign visas or make the dangerous and expensive journey out.

The Taliban takeover has had devastating consequences for the people of Afghanistan, with widespread hunger, destitution, and segregation on the rise. The country is facing a dire humanitarian crisis, with urgent international assistance needed to support the millions of Afghans struggling to survive.

Afghans seeking asylum in the US are often stuck in legal limbo, with their applications pending for months or years

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover in 2021 led to a mass exodus of Afghans, with millions fleeing persecution, poverty, and human rights abuses. Many of those who have made it to the US are now facing an uncertain future as they navigate the complex immigration system.

One of the main challenges is the backlog in processing asylum applications. As of 2023, there were tens of thousands of applicants stuck in the backlog of the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, which was designed to help those who served the US in Afghanistan. The US government has pledged to expedite these applications, but the process remains slow, with many applicants waiting for months or even years for a decision.

Another issue is the lack of legal representation for asylum seekers. Finding free or low-cost legal assistance can be difficult, and many Afghans struggle to navigate the complex US immigration system on their own. This can lead to delays in their applications and create further uncertainty about their future.

The legal limbo also affects Afghans who have already been granted temporary protection in the US. For example, under the humanitarian parole program, Afghans are granted temporary status that allows them to work and receive some government support. However, this status does not provide a legal pathway to residency or citizenship, leaving individuals and families in limbo, unsure of their long-term future.

The situation has led to calls for the US government to streamline the process and provide a clearer path to permanent residency for Afghans seeking asylum. A bill to create a streamlined process is currently pending in Congress but faces an uphill battle for passage.

The impact of the legal limbo is profound, with Afghans facing uncertainty, difficulty in accessing basic services, and the constant fear of deportation. It also affects their ability to rebuild their lives, find stable employment, and provide for their families.

The US government's response to the Afghan refugee crisis has been the subject of criticism and debate, with some arguing that more needs to be done to support those seeking asylum and provide a clear path to permanent residency.

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