Afghans in Pakistan awaiting US resettlement feel betrayal after Trump order

ISLAMABAD: A decision by President Donald Trump’s administration to halt visa processing for refugees has caused uncertainty and shock at an English school for Afghans in Islamabad who are awaiting resettlement in the United States.

Normally enthusiastic students were quiet or crying in class after the news broke on Tuesday, said Sayed Hasibullah, a 20-year old teacher whose application for resettlement in the US is in process, reported international media.

Some feel betrayed, with many -- including those who fled Taliban rule in Afghanistan -- having already spent years in limbo. “It was really a horrible moment for us. We have been waiting for almost three years and there is no hope anymore,” he told foreign media at the school in Islamabad. The sudden delay has upended the plans of many Afghans in Pakistan and left them in despair after undergoing extensive vetting and making preparations for new lives in the US.

In an intermediate language class, about half of which had US visa applications in process, a 16-year-old girl broke down in tears. “I feel very bad from this news,” she said, unable to focus on her work -- practicing a list of English phrases for giving formal presentations that was written on the class whiteboard.

She hopes to enrol in high school in the US after being barred from pursuing her education at school in Afghanistan. The tutoring academy, which has roughly 300 students, is one of the few spaces available for studying for many Afghans waiting for US visas. They cannot legally work or formally study in Pakistan.

Shawn VanDiver, the founder of #AfghanEvac, the leading coalition of resettlement and veterans groups, said there were 10,000-15,000 Afghans in Pakistan waiting for special immigration visas or resettlement in the US as refugees.