For 18 months, Alia has been waiting in a transit camp in Qatar for her promised resettlement to the U.S. But now that route appears to have closed for good. Where she and hundreds of other Afghan evacuees will end up next is unknown. Going back home to Afghanistan is not an option. It is too dangerous, Alia says. And since the U.S. and Israel began a war with Iran, the evacuees are not safe where they are either. 'We have been betrayed. Not by the American people, but by those in government who had promised to take us to safety in America,' says Alia, who worked as a lawyer in Afghanistan before the Taliban took over the country in 2021.
Alia - whose name has been changed for her safety - is among a group of more than 1,100 people evacuated from Afghanistan by the U.S. who are now stuck in limbo in Camp As-Sayliyah (CAS) in Doha. The camp – a former U.S. army base – is where thousands of Afghan evacuees have been processed for resettlement to the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome, launched by the Biden administration after the return of the Taliban and the chaotic U.S. withdrawal.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced it would close the camp by March 31 and that the evacuees would not be taken to the U.S., plunging hundreds like Alia into fear and uncertainty. Their anxiety has surged since Qatar started to be hit by Iranian attacks. CAS is roughly 12 miles (19km) from Al-Udeid U.S. airbase, which has been repeatedly struck by Iran.
The group has sent out a message, stating, 'The danger is not directed at Qatar itself; the actual targets are American bases in Qatar one of which is us... The emotional situation of children, pregnant women, and the elderly is concerning. People wander about the corridors and cry.' They have appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to make a one-off exception for them due to the volatile situation.
VanDiver disputes the U.S. state department's claims, asserting that evacuees like Alia and Latif, who worked for years alongside the U.S. military, deserve a pathway to safe resettlement. As the U.S. grapples with its withdrawal from Afghanistan and evolving diplomatic dynamics, Afghan evacuees remain caught in a precarious limbo, longing for the lives they once envisioned in safety and dignity.
Alia - whose name has been changed for her safety - is among a group of more than 1,100 people evacuated from Afghanistan by the U.S. who are now stuck in limbo in Camp As-Sayliyah (CAS) in Doha. The camp – a former U.S. army base – is where thousands of Afghan evacuees have been processed for resettlement to the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome, launched by the Biden administration after the return of the Taliban and the chaotic U.S. withdrawal.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced it would close the camp by March 31 and that the evacuees would not be taken to the U.S., plunging hundreds like Alia into fear and uncertainty. Their anxiety has surged since Qatar started to be hit by Iranian attacks. CAS is roughly 12 miles (19km) from Al-Udeid U.S. airbase, which has been repeatedly struck by Iran.
The group has sent out a message, stating, 'The danger is not directed at Qatar itself; the actual targets are American bases in Qatar one of which is us... The emotional situation of children, pregnant women, and the elderly is concerning. People wander about the corridors and cry.' They have appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to make a one-off exception for them due to the volatile situation.
VanDiver disputes the U.S. state department's claims, asserting that evacuees like Alia and Latif, who worked for years alongside the U.S. military, deserve a pathway to safe resettlement. As the U.S. grapples with its withdrawal from Afghanistan and evolving diplomatic dynamics, Afghan evacuees remain caught in a precarious limbo, longing for the lives they once envisioned in safety and dignity.
