Two years on, what has happened to Afghan evacuees?

Hundreds of thousands have been left in limbo, either on short-term visas or in third countries awaiting resettlement.
Two years after the Taliban’s return to power, hundreds of thousands of Afghans promised resettlement are either struggling in legal limbo in new host countries or trapped abroad awaiting processing by Western nations that vowed to rescue their Afghan allies.

More than 124,000 civilians were evacuated from Afghanistan in August and September 2021, but many find themselves struggling with short-term and restrictive visa situations in the United States and Europe, as their hosts continue to ponder just how unsafe the country is.

Many more remain stuck in Pakistan, Iran, the Persian Gulf, and in African countries, desperate for visas, waiting interminably for news, fearing deportation, and contemplating risky journeys to Europe and the United States to try to claim asylum if all else fails.

As it begins its third year back in power, the Taliban-led government is facing growing accusations of rights abuses, including social, economic, and educational restrictions on women, even as it warns Western countries against encouraging skilled Afghans to leave.

The Afghan economy is also struggling. Ongoing banking restrictions and foreign aid reductions have shattered domestic and regional investor confidence, resulting in the loss of more than 700,000 jobs since the summer of 2021. Meanwhile, a string of natural disasters has exacerbated what the UN has described as the “world’s largest humanitarian crisis”, but only 23% of funds for this year’s humanitarian response plan have been received.

Against this backdrop, Afghans continue to leave the country in large numbers, only to be confronted by crackdowns in neighbouring Pakistan and Iran that are driving many onto migration routes towards Europe that have become deadlier as borders close and people smugglers take advantage of the crisis for profit. In a sign of just how desperate the situation has become, some Afghans have even been flying to South America and trekking through the dangerous Darién Gap to try to claim asylum in the United States.