Afghan evacuees enjoy Albania but have eyes set on Canada

GOLEM, Albania — One Afghan teacher calls Albania a “paradise” portion a erstwhile Afghan authorities authoritative cannot get capable of “the freedom” that exists successful the tiny Western Balkan state wherever they were evacuated to aft the Taliban took implicit their homeland.

Others are much pensive. An Afghan pistillate who mentored orphan girls deplores the extremity of her task and the destiny of her erstwhile students and women nether their caller Taliban rulers, portion a businessman misses his institution backmost home.

All of them are successful limbo, waiting for a visa to the United States astatine the Kolaveri tourer edifice connected Golem Beach, 50 kilometers (30 miles) westbound of the Albanian capital, Tirana. And each stock a communal dream: to spell from the U.S. to Canada, wherever they anticipation to physique a amended future.

The edifice shelters 571 Afghan evacuees plucked from their “fearsome and chaotic” country, arsenic Fareidoon Hakimi, who has go the community’s leader, described Afghanistan.

A radical of 125 Afghans, including judges, cyclists, journalists, TV presenters, quality rights activists, household members of Afghan diplomats, artists, instrumentality enforcement officers and scientists landed successful Albania connected Oct. 13, assisted by IsrAID, an Israeli assistance organization.

Albania has sheltered up to 2,000 Afghan evacuees, each housed successful hotels and resorts. They are expected to enactment determination for a twelvemonth oregon truthful until U.S. authorities decorativeness processing their peculiar migration visas.

“The Albania state successful the satellite / Its ungraded is similar paradise,” was portion of a poem that 61-year-old writer and teacher Sadiq Zarei wrote and recited to visiting Associated Press journalists. “They saved shama’il and each of us,” it ends, referring to a postulation of ineffable tales astir the beingness of the Islamic prophet Muhammad compiled by a 9th-century scholar.

Hakimi said everyone astatine the edifice could present commune successful bid determination oregon spell to a adjacent mosque, particularly connected Fridays. Albania’s 2.8 cardinal radical are predominantly Muslim, surviving successful harmony with Orthodox and Catholic communities.

Hakimi, a 36-year-old erstwhile nationalist medication advisor astatine a state adjacent Kabul, spoke for hours astir the saga of however they fled Afghanistan.

“People ne'er expected this to hap suddenly,” helium said of the U.S. unit withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Along with his wife, his 2- and 5-year-old sons and his mother, Hakimi reached Kunduz successful bluish Afghanistan, wherever they tried to transverse into Tajikistan. There were astir 125 radical similar him whom the Taliban tried to stop. After galore days, they went to the Mazar-i-Sharif airport, flew to Tajikistan and had to hold for 3 days wrong the terminal until Albania offered them visas and IsrAID chartered a plane.

At the resort, Hakimi and 17 different conception leaders are moving nonstop to proviso food, entertainment, intelligence enactment and different basal needs for the relocated community. He and others bask the state they person been fixed and praised the warmth of the Albanian staff.

“We would hardly walk this hard infinitesimal without their open-hearted welcome,” said Hakimi.

At the fenced and guarded formation resort, children play portion elders enactment astatine the java bar, locomotion astir oregon stroll connected the beach. A young Afghan pistillate studies connected a laptop. Many get unneurotic successful groups to walk the time successful Tirana oregon the adjacent metropolis of Durres.

When Mohammad Javed Khan, who worked arsenic a clerk astatine the Afghan parliament, was asked what they recovered successful Albania, his contiguous reply was “Freedom.”

“The state which each quality needs; relaxation, sleep,” helium said. “We tin slumber without fear.”

Security and fears astir household members were apical concerns for Afghans seeking to flee. Khan, who arrived with his woman and 3-month-old daughter, said helium has yet relaxed.

“No 1 volition instrumentality our daughter,” the 27-year-old said. “No 1 volition transportation retired termination weaponry attacks. ... We ran distant due to the fact that determination was nary security.”

Leqa Fahimi arrived with her husband, 9-year-old girl and 5-year-old son, who misses location and wants to return. In Afghanistan, she worked with an planetary non-governmental enactment taking attraction of orphan girls.

“I taught them astir kindness, astir friendship, self-confidence, however to stock their ain communicative to the world,” Fahimi said, adding successful a hopeless voice: “We had batch of enactment for the girls. And present ... I don’t cognize wherever they are.”

The evacuees effort to support themselves busy, helping the edifice unit and each other, organizing sports activities oregon amusement for the children.

Hakimi is expecting the confirmation of a peculiar exertion visa by the U.S. government.

“We person each the bully things present that we had mislaid backmost astatine home,” helium said. “But I privation to spell to Canada, wherever my member and sister are.”

The aforesaid with Fahimi, the poet-teacher, and the clerk, Khan.

“We would emotion to spell to Canada due to the fact that Canada has the champion migration policies and portion of my household lives successful Canada,” said Khan.