Afghanistan – The Long Road Ahead

The war may be over, but for refugees from the Taliban the battle has just begun

- By Jalen Small

THE LAST AMERICAN TROOPS HAVE LEFT Afghanistan. The news cameras have turned to other issues around the world. But for the roughly 38 million Afghans who remain, and the 130,000 or so who managed to leave, the war is far from over.

Omaid Sharifi is president of ArtLords, a grassroots art movement based in Afghanistan. He was evacuated with his family to Abu Dhabi, where he has spent the last month in a refugee camp, awaiting resettlement to the United States.

“From the life I’ve lived for 34 years,” he says. “I could only get one T-shirt, a pair of trousers and my laptop. I lost everything else in this chaos.”

Unfortunately, Sharifi’s case is far from unique. “Refugees are people that have been forcibly uprooted from their homes and have had to flee violence and persecution on a large scale, often with nothing— none of their possessions,” Chris Boian, senior communications officer of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says.

As of October 12, more than 11,000 Afghans have been matched with resettlement agencies and affiliates to join communities across the country, a State Department spokesperson says, and will receive initial resettlement services through the Afghan Placement and Assistance (APA) Program.

“We anticipate up to 65,000 Afghans will be assisted in coming to U.S. military bases this fall, including many who have already arrived, the State Department said. “Up to 30,000 additional Afghans over the following 12 months may also be relocated and resettled to the United States.