Unsettled: Searching for home after escaping the Taliban

Her departure from Kabul reminded her of immoderate “zombie movie,” the young pistillate said. It was an acquisition she could picture lone arsenic “dehumanizing, terrifying and precise traumatizing.”

When she woke up successful a lakeside edifice successful Uganda, she recovered it intolerable to quadrate her caller surroundings with the chaos of leaving. Nearly 4 months later, she is inactive reeling, stuck successful the East African country, uncertain erstwhile she volition beryllium capable to leave.

“It feels similar we are prisoners,” she said. “I americium conscionable angry.”

The pistillate spoke connected the information of anonymity retired of interest for her safety. She is among some 124,000 civilians who were evacuated from Kabul successful a U.S.-led airlift aft the Taliban took implicit Afghanistan successful August. Most fled connected U.S. subject aircraft. Others escaped connected commercialized flights, oregon backstage oregon allied planes. They were uprooted and scattered crossed the globe. Her relationship is akin to those of galore different Afghans who stay stranded, unsure however to scope a caller state wherever they tin find imperishable residence.

As of Dec. 24, much than 75,000 Afghan nationals had arrived successful the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security, with about 25,000 of them inactive surviving astatine subject installations. About 2,500 Afghans are astatine U.S. bases overseas, waiting to beryllium processed.

[Thousands of Afghans evacuated during U.S. withdrawal awaiting resettlement]

For thousands of different Afghan evacuees, the aboriginal is adjacent little certain.

No planetary enactment appears to beryllium keeping way of the radical successful this abrupt and immense diaspora — oregon coordinating their care. Officials with the U.S. military, the State Department and DHS did not supply The Washington Post with immoderate appraisal of however galore of the Afghans evacuated by commercial, backstage oregon allied flights are extracurricular the U.S. pipeline, oregon wherever they are located. The United Nations exile agency, whose unit supports refugees successful immoderate 130 countries, says it cannot supply numbers connected however galore Afghans person near since the Taliban came to powerfulness due to the fact that it was not progressive successful the evacuations.

The Post contacted 194 governments astir the satellite (hearing backmost from 41 of them), conducted dozens of interviews and collected authorities statements to find retired wherever Afghans person fled. The investigation recovered that they person ended up successful much than 40 countries.

In summation to the Afghans who were airlifted, thousands are reportedly crossing into Iran each day.

The Post interviewed Afghans successful Albania, Australia, Germany, Mexico and Uganda who near their homeland aft the Taliban takeover. Host governments and nongovernmental organizations are helping them get by. They are successful assorted phases of the migration process, with immoderate successful much unchangeable situations than others, but they stay agreed successful their heartbreak implicit leaving Afghanistan truthful suddenly, their guilt astir those near behind, and their feeling of disorientation successful caller surroundings.

AUSTRALIA

Noor Mohammad Ramazan built a vocation showing disconnected the wonders of Afghanistan. As a circuit guide, helium had spent the past six years taking foreigners astir the past citadel successful Herat, the breathtaking architecture of Mazar-e Sharif’s Blue Mosque and the heavy turquoise waters of the Band-e Amir lakes successful Afghanistan’s archetypal nationalist park. His adventures were documented by YouTubers exploring the country.

“I conscionable wanted to amusement Afghanistan’s beauties,” helium said. “It was a shame cipher was talking astir that and they were lone talking of its explosions.”

Now the 33-year-old is acold from those treasures, surviving successful a tiny assemblage extracurricular Melbourne, Australia, with his wife, Masuma, and 2 children. Fearful that the Taliban would punish him and his household for catering to Western travelers, helium obtained an Australian humanitarian visa with the assistance of a erstwhile lawsuit who knew an Australian senator. The household near Kabul connected Aug. 23. After much than a week successful a subject campy successful Dubai, they landed successful Melbourne, wherever Ramazan felt safer but disoriented.

In Afghanistan, helium said, “you unrecorded with your cousins and household members and classmates.” But successful Australia, helium said, “you don’t cognize your neighbors.”

While the authorities gives them money, it is not enough, Ramazan said. He applied for enactment arsenic a translator and besides hopes to people a postulation of his ain abbreviated stories — tales based connected Ramazan’s experiences increasing up nether Taliban rule.

His household is gathering a caller life, and helium is grateful for the freedoms and the feeling of peace. But helium is disquieted for the brothers, sisters, parents, uncle and cousins helium could not instrumentality with him.

“They are fine, but they are terrified,” helium said. “We are terrified arsenic well.”

Albania

Miraqa Popal, 34, wakes up successful Albania each time and sees the ocean.

“I americium lucky,” helium said from an Adriatic seaside edifice successful Lezhe wherever helium and hundreds of other Afghans person been staying aft escaping Kabul. “At slightest I was capable to leave. And to hopefully commencement a caller life.”

Albania is temporarily hosting 2,400 Afghans who fled Taliban regularisation arsenic they hold for imperishable homes. Popal applied for a Canadian visa but is inactive waiting to perceive back. He does not cognize immoderate Afghans who person near Albania.

He is thrilled with the attraction helium and his household are receiving, but helium misses his seven-room location successful Kabul, with a large courtyard wherever they utilized to propulsion parties for relatives who present stay successful Afghanistan. In Albania, they person 2 rooms: 1 for him, his woman and 3 kids to slumber in; the different a tiny kitchen, wherever they navigator elemental dinners of tomatoes, onions and eggplant.

Popal erstwhile traveled the satellite directing sum for TOLONEWS, Afghanistan’s largest quality channel. After astir 4 months, helium resumed moving for the enactment arsenic a transcript editor. It feels large to beryllium back, helium said, but helium misses being successful the field.

“It’s hard to enactment online,” helium said.

Germany

Nasir Sultani and his sister Masooma arrived successful Krakow, Poland, successful August and were mesmerized by the medieval architecture, the kindness of the people. They loved it there, but they felt they could not stay.

The occupation and acquisition prospects successful Poland were not promising, friends told Nasir, a quality rights activist. So they crossed into Germany successful hopes of uncovering American officials who could assistance process his sister’s U.S. resettlement application; she applied aft moving for a U.S. institution successful Kabul for 2 years, but has not received a lawsuit number.

Now surviving successful a Berlin exile campy with migrants from Syria, Iraq and Russia, they consciousness mislaid successful the shuffle. They bash not cognize if they volition beryllium permanently resettled successful Germany, fto unsocial the United States.

“I privation to find immoderate mode backmost to Poland,” Nasir said successful November, adding that helium regretted their determination to determination connected to Berlin. But helium inactive yearns for Kabul. “No substance wherever I go, it doesn’t look similar my homeland.”

Uganda

In Uganda, an Afghan pistillate feels trapped.

It is not uncomfortable successful the flat wherever she is staying, but determination is thing to do. The woman, who spoke connected the information of anonymity retired of interest for her safety, spends her days penning and watching “Downton Abbey” connected Netflix, waiting for responses from the U.S. Embassy. They person not come.

“It’s a beauteous country,” she said of Uganda, “but it’s wasted connected us.”

Uganda’s overseas minister, Gen. Jeje Odongo, said successful a telephone interrogation this summertime that his authorities had accepted 51 evacuees connected a transit ground successful precocious August after receiving a petition for assistance from the U.S. government.

There person been tiny glimmers of happiness: The pistillate tends to stray kittens she recovered successful the area. Their fluffy pinkish ears supply comfort.

She hopes to commencement a caller beingness successful the United States but has bittersweet feelings astir leaving her beloved Kabul and worries astir her household and friends inactive there.

“It had everything but safety,” she said of Kabul. “It’s similar if an astonishing quality had crab and you couldn’t prevention them.”

Mexico

Nilofar Quraishi and her husband, Zabihullah, were truthful adjacent to escaping. They had made it into the airdrome successful August and were waiting connected a formation to get out. But days passed and Nilofar, past 5 months pregnant, was starting to consciousness ill.

They decided to spell backmost home, leaving the airdrome done the aforesaid gates wherever a violent onslaught would termination much than 180 radical conscionable hours later.

Unable to flight done the chaos of the airlift, they looked for different mode out. One period later, Zabihullah, who taught civilian engineering astatine Kardan University successful Kabul, decided to effort again aft friends said they could assistance him if helium made it to Mexico.

They crossed into Iran, saying Nilofar needed peculiar aesculapian attraction for her pregnancy. There, they received a tourer visa to Mexico.

To wage the airfare, they sold Nilofar’s jewelry. But erstwhile the formation from Istanbul to Mexico City landed, they were turned away.

“I told them, arsenic a quality being you cognize my state is destroyed and we are nether menace of the Taliban,” Zabihullah said. “They told us, ‘No, sorry.’ ”

The mates was sent backmost to Istanbul, lone to find retired erstwhile they landed that the Mexican Foreign Ministry had changed its caput and would fto them in.

Now successful Mexico, their travel has lone begun. Nilofar, who worked for an Afghan media outlet, gave commencement to their archetypal child, Oswah, a miss with acheronian hairsbreadth and large brownish eyes, connected Dec. 15. But parenthood feels bittersweet.

“We consciousness truthful blessed for our baby,” Zabihullah said. “But I privation I could person our parents spot and attraction for her.”

Their anticipation is to rise Oswah successful Canada, wherever Nilofar’s aunt lives, and they person appealed to the authorities for a visa.

In different month, Zabihullah said, funds from a nongovernmental enactment supporting their enactment successful Mexico volition tally out. They cannot enactment themselves.

“Every time and night, my Nilofar is crying due to the fact that of the existent situation,” helium said.

About this story

Editing by Reem Akkad. Photo editing by Olivier Laurent. Design by Dwuan June. Copy editing by Dorine Bethea and Martha Murdock. McKenzie Beard, Caroline Cliona Boyle, Heather MacNeil, Aneeta Mathur-Ashton, Vanessa Montalbano, Megan Ruggles, Nick Trombola and Carley Welch with the American University-Washington Post practicum contributed to this report.