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"Mr. President, don't send us to the butcher's knives in Kabul" - Trump's decision to cut aid worries Afghans in Lezha

2025-01-27 19:18:59Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
"Mr. President, don't send us to the butcher's knives in
Trump's decision to cut aid worries Afghans in Lezha

Ali Amini was just days away from starting a new life in the United States when President Donald Trump cut off resettlement aid for Afghan refugees last week, a move that Amini worries could put his life at risk if he is forced to return home.

After processing in Albania, he had a flight booked for Tuesday and his bags were packed when Trump suspended state aid needed to transport tens of thousands of Afghans who had been granted visas.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever get on that plane and if so, whether it’s going to Kabul or the United States,” said Amini from Shëngjin, a coastal town in northern Albania where he has taken refuge along with 300 compatriots.

Trump's pause on foreign aid has led to the suspension of flights for over 40,000 Afghans approved for special US visas and at risk of Taliban retaliation, said Shawn VanDiver, head of the #AfghanEvac coalition of US veterans and advocacy groups.

Amin arrived in Albania more than a month ago and had secured visas in Tirana, the capital, for his wife and three children, the youngest of whom is six months old.

After the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, thousands of people working for the US military or other organizations were processed in Albania and given visas before traveling to the United States.

Upon hearing the news from Trump, Amini's wife burst into tears, while their children are anxious about the future. After working as a locksmith for US troops before their withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Amini lived in hiding for three years for fear of Taliban reprisals.

"If we go back, they will kill us because, to the Taliban, we are essentially Americans and their number one enemy, having worked side by side with the Americans."

"The Last Airplane"

Most of those affected by Trump's decision are stranded in Afghanistan, with others in Pakistan, Qatar and Albania, VanDiver said. The order also prompted the State Department to suspend funding for groups that help Afghans on special immigrant visas (SIVs) find housing, schools and jobs in the United States.

Nearly 200,000 Afghans have been resettled to the US on SIV or as refugees since 2021. Trump's victorious re-election campaign in 2024 included promises of strict immigration policies.

In Shëngjin, children play soccer and write their names in the sand while parents anxiously check their phones for news. Trump's name is mentioned in whispers.

Sadat, 27, arrived on Thursday after traveling from Kabul to Dubai, then Kuwait, Istanbul and finally Tirana, with a group of about 130 people.

“My friends in Kabul tell me I’m lucky, as that might have been the last plane with people like us,” Sadat said, noting that he was informed on Saturday about a visa interview scheduled for next week.

"Things are changing every hour, and waiting until next week is a lifetime. I'm very worried," Sadat added.

Reports from the UN mission in Afghanistan show that the Taliban have arrested, tortured and killed former soldiers and officials of the previous US-backed government. The Taliban have issued a general amnesty for former troops and government officials, but deny these allegations.

"We can't go back to Afghanistan because, for the Taliban, we are already in America and will be treated as spies," Sadat explained.

"Mr. Trump, don't send us to the butcher's knives in Kabul," pleaded another Afghan, whose visa expires in two weeks.

Source: Reuters


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