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Soban*, 32, stares out to sea as his 4-year-old daughter plays barefoot in the sand of Shëngjin beach in late January. He and his family of six had planned to travel to the United States on January 30, but the flight – part of Operation AfghanEvac – was canceled.
“When my family and I heard about the flight cancellation, we were shocked, we were breathless,” said Soban, who spoke to BIRN on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals against his family in Afghanistan.
Soban arrived in Albania a month ago from Mazar-e-Sharif, a city in northern Afghanistan. Along with about 400 other Afghans, he is stranded in Shengjin after President Donald Trump's decision to freeze the U.S. refugee admissions program.
#AfghanEvac, a coalition of organizations that help Afghans who worked for the US government or companies escape persecution by the ruling Taliban, estimates that Trump's order has blocked the evacuation of nearly 40,000 US allies currently in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries.
"These people have fought alongside US forces, shed blood alongside them, many have lost family members, many have risked their lives, and many have saved ours. We owe these people a debt of gratitude," said Shawn VanDiver, a representative for AfghanEvac, via a message on X.
Van Diver asked President Trump to exclude this category from his executive order on refugees.
Temporary decision?
An Afghan family on the promenade of Shëngjin.
After a costly 20-year war in Afghanistan, the United States withdrew its troops in the summer of 2021, as Taliban militants took power. Through humanitarian operations, thousands of Afghans who had worked for the United States, its allies, or American companies fled the country to escape reprisals and persecution.
About 2,000 of them initially arrived in Albania and, after their documents were processed, then left for the United States, Canada or other allied countries. But the Trump administration's decision to suspend the US refugee admission program has left about 400 Afghans currently in Shengjin in uncertainty.
Emal, 30, from Kabul, says he worked for the US as an assistant administrator before 2021. After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, he, unable to leave, chose to hide. "After the Taliban took control, we lived in hiding, once here, once there, once in another province. Those of us who worked for the US were forced to leave our homes," says the 30-year-old, who arrived in Albania five days ago.
Emal thotë se arratisja nga Afganistani ishte e vetmja mënyrë për të mbijetuar për ta dhe familjet e tyre. Ai thotë se në çdo vend tjetër përpos vendlindjes ndjehet i sigurt dhe në Shqipëri, gjithçka ka shkuar mirë, por shpreson që presidenca në SHBA ta rikonsiderojë vendimin.
“Nuk është se e kemi menduar shumë, por kemi shpresë që Trump do ta rikonsiderojë dhe do të lejojë fluturimet për ne, pasi ne punuam për SHBA-të dhe jeta jonë është në rrezik e nuk mund të kthehemi në Afganistan”, thotë ai.
Edhe një 51 vjeçar, i cili mbërriti në Shëngjin 10 ditë më parë, shpreson se pezullimi është i përkohshëm dhe gjërat do të kthehen në normalitet në vijim. Ai thotë se fakti që pati një fluturim vetëm katër ditë më parë tregon se operacioni i evakuimit të afganëve që punuan me aleatët do të vazhdojë.
“Unë mendoj që vendimi i zotit Trump është normal, pasi është i përkohshëm dhe jo i përhershëm”, tha ai. Burri që si shumë refugjatë po shëtiste me bashkëshorten buzë bregdetit i tha BIRN se ishte në Shqipëri me 3 vajzat. Ai tregoi se kishte punuar si inxhinier ndërtimi për amerikanët dhe se kjo CV e vendoste në rrezik.
“Nuk është e sigurt atje për ne. Është shumë e rrezikshme për ne, pasi unë kam punuar me projekte amerikane në Afganistan”, tha ai.
‘S’ka kthim pas’
Rreth 400 shtetas afganë ndodhen në Shqipëri, në pritje të udhetimeve drejt Shteteve të Bashkuara.
Soban i tha BIRN se e përjetoi me akth dhe frikë largimin nga Afganistani.
“Ditën e fluturimit, që nga momenti që hipëm në avion në Kabul e deri sa dolëm nga hapësira ajrore afgane isha i përfshirë nga frika. Çdo sekondë mendoja se aeroplani do kthehej pas dhe do na dorëzonin në duart e Talebanëve”, kujton ai.
Ashtu si të tjerët, Soban shpreson që vendimi i Trump të rikonsiderohet, pasi ai thotë se për të dhe familjen e tij nuk ka kthim pas.
“Kthimi pas në Afghanistan na vendos ne në rrezik serioz. Atje nuk kemi siguri për vete, dhe rrezikojmë arrestimin, torturën dhe ndoshta edhe vdekjen”, thotë ai.
32 vjeçari thotë se personat që bashkëpunuan me SHBA përndiqen nga talebanët dhe shpesh i nënshtrohen torturës dhe poshtërimit e dehumanizimit. Vetë ai thotë se e ka përjetuar në kurriz një torturë të tillë, pasi talebanët zbuluan që kishte punuar për një kompani amerikane.
“Unë jam një prej viktimave të brutalitetit. Kur u arrestova nga talebanët dhe kur pas marrjes në pyetje ata mësuan nga telefoni që kisha bashkëpunuar me forca të SHBA, iu nënshtrova një torture fizike e mendore të tmerrshme”, thotë ai. Për të dhe të tjerë afganë që ndodhen në Shëngjin kthimi pas është dënim me vdekje.
32-vjeçari thotë se shpreson që arratia nga Afganistani do i mundësojë atij dhe 4 fëmijëve një jetë më të mirë. Ai thotë se ka një vajzë 13-vjeç që ëndërron të bëhet doktoreshë dhe shpreson që kjo t’i bëhet e mundur, pasi talebanët ua kanë hequr këtë mundësi vajzave.
“Gjithçka shpresoj është që SHBA të mbajnë premtimin që u kanë dhënë aleatëve të tyre afganë dhe të na transferojnë në një vend të sigurt”, thotë ai.
However, the 32-year-old does not hide his fear that things may not go as he would like, and the cancellation of the January 30 flight has added to his anxieties.
"The dire situation in Afghanistan came to mind again. We are afraid that the US government has abandoned us and will send us back," he said./ BIRN
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