Afghan evacuees stuck in US base face uncertain fate

The destiny of some Afghans who had been evacuated from their nation to a United States base within the Balkans stays up within the air. 

Since Afghanistan fell to the Taliban final summer time, the US has resettled some 78,000 Afghans – most of whom assisted its 11-year fight mission – inside its borders.

Nevertheless, a small variety of Afghans, flagged for added screening, had been diverted to Camp Bondsteel within the tiny Balkan nation of Kosovo.

Amid vetting delays and safety issues, their journey to the US has stalled and maybe ended, within the sun-soaked cluster of tents and momentary housing within the American base. 

“They simply preserve repeating the identical issues, that it takes time and we should be affected person,” one of many Afghans, Muhammad Arif Sarwari, stated in a textual content message despatched to The Related Press from the bottom.

Sarwari made it to Kuwait from Afghanistan in early September together with his spouse and two of his daughters and says he does not know why he is been held up.

He was a outstanding determine in Afghanistan, serving as the previous director of intelligence after the US invasion in 2001. Earlier than that, he was a high official with the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance.

This may make him a goal for Taliban reprisals if he had been to return.

“The vetting staff retains telling us sorry, Washington is simply deciding some political points,” he stated.

That is creating frustration amongst some Afghans on the base, which is shrouded in secrecy. 

Final week they staged a protest, holding up indicators with messages reminiscent of “we wish justice,” in response to pictures shared with AP.

The US has not offered particulars concerning the evacuees. However it says they didn’t make it by “a multi-layered, rigorous screening and vetting course of” and won’t be allowed to enter the nation. 

“Whereas the overwhelming majority of Afghan evacuees have been cleared by this course of, the small variety of people who’ve been denied are examples of the system working precisely because it ought to,” stated Sean Savett, a spokesman for the Nationwide Safety Council.

Some 600 Afghans have handed by Bondsteel in complete, in response to the federal government of Kosovo. The Balkan state initially allowed the US to make use of the bottom for evacuating Afghans for one yr. However this was just lately prolonged till August 2023. 

The chaotic nature of the evacuation helped create the necessity for abroad amenities. With the Afghan authorities disintegrating and the specter of the Taliban looming, 1000’s had been rushed onto navy transport planes with minimal screening earlier than they arrived at certainly one of a number of abroad transit factors.

In October, the Wall Avenue Journal reported that Republican congressional leaders had been criticising the vetting course of for Afghan nationals dropped at the US following the chaotic US withdrawal. 

The folks despatched to Bondsteel have been stopped and diverted for a number of causes, together with lacking or flawed paperwork, alongside safety issues rising from vetting by the FBI and the Division of Homeland Safety, officers have stated.

Whereas the US authorities, and the federal government of Kosovo, have been reluctant to say a lot concerning the folks caught on the camp, a mixture of adults and kids are current. That is as a result of a few of those that have didn’t get a US visa travelled with their households. 

Sarwari, a former senior intelligence official with the Afghan authorities, stated there are about 45 folks there, representing about 20 particular person visa instances, after a flight to the US left with 27 different evacuees on Wednesday.

He has utilized for a particular immigrant visa, which is issued to individuals who labored for the US authorities or its allies through the warfare. But nonetheless has not obtained a response, says his lawyer, Julie Sirrs.

“In idea, he’s free to go away but it surely’s not clear the place he might go,” Sirrs stated. “He clearly can’t return to Afghanistan. He’s clearly in peril if he returns.”

Whereas not detained, Sarwari and his household can’t depart the arid, rocky base and have spent months in tents, which had been adorned with handwritten indicators throughout this week’s protest. 

“Unfair resolution,” learn one of many protestor’s messages, whereas one other displayed “youngsters are struggling.”

US authorities have decided that an unspecified variety of evacuees can’t enter the US. It’s negotiating with different states to see if they’ll settle for them for resettlement. 

Nobody will likely be forcibly returned to Afghanistan, the NSC spokesperson stated.

Kosovo, which gained independence from Serbia in 2008 with assist from the US, has offered little details about the Afghans at Bondsteel, citing the privateness of the refugees. 

Prime Minister Albin Kurti stated in an announcement that his authorities is pleased with the position it has performed in aiding the evacuation from Afghanistan. 

The Afghan part of the US base is named Camp Liya. 

It’s named after an Afghan youngster who was handed to  US troopers over a fence on the Hamid Karzai Worldwide Airport through the evacuation.