Attachments
Executive Summary
Approximately half a year after the Taliban’s devastating takeover of Afghanistan, thousands of Afghan evacuees remain stranded in transit in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These men, women, and children are caught in a state of legal limbo, unsure if they will ever reach the place of peace and freedom for which they long.
To date, the UAE has spent millions of dollars graciously hosting their Afghan guests still awaiting resettlement. They are hosting far more Afghan evacuees than the 5,000 to which they originally committed. By the end of August, 8,500 Afghans were being hosted in the UAE. That number has grown to the estimated 10,000 guests currently staying in two transit facilities in Abu Dhabi, collectively known as the Emirates Humanitarian City (EHC).
While thousands of Afghan evacuees have been quickly processed through transit sites and resettled by the United States Government (USG), including 5,000 processed through the UAE, the 10,000 Afghans that remain in the UAE find themselves faced with a different fate — months of waiting and uncertainty, many with no clear pathway forward. Their reality is ever-narrowing visa options, broken promises, and disappointed expectations.
How did the Afghans in the EHC get into this predicament? What is the way forward for them? This report will outline the actions and expectations that created the state of limbo in which Afghans at the EHC now find themselves. It will give voice to this population’s perspectives about both the present and the future, as shared in focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews. Finally, building on a review of available data, the report concludes that it is the responsibility of the U.S. government to find immediate solutions for the 10,000 Afghans stuck in the UAE. Solutions may include bringing the remaining evacuees to the U.S. via Humanitarian Parole (HP) or bilaterally finding permanent solutions for them to have residence in other nations.