Photo : M. Shoaib Sharify

RefugePoint has many staff working around the world, in situations that are sometimes dangerous and often confidential due to security concerns*, to help Afghan and other refugees resettle to the U.S. and other countries where they can rebuild their lives safely. 

This is the story of one RefugePoint staff member’s experience supporting an Afghan refugee.

He is a father who worked with the U.S. Government in Afghanistan. He is married and has two young children. When the Taliban learned that this father worked for the U.S. military, they came after him. He managed to escape the country but wasn’t able to bring his wife and young kids with him.

As is the case for so many who flee their home, this father wound up in a dangerous place where he faced ongoing threats. RefugePoint’s Resettlement Expert met with him on multiple occasions, provided him with counseling and support, and helped him resettle to a country where he can rebuild his life safely.   

Upon arrival in his new home, he filed family reunification documents for his wife and children. Their documents were finally processed and the application was accepted. The family was on the brink of relocating to join him when the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban took control. Now his wife and children are stuck. It’s unclear at this point if or when they might be able to escape and reunite with the father.

Many Afghan families are separated just like this one. In addition to helping individuals in life-threatening situations like this father, RefugePoint has also built a family reunification program to reunite unaccompanied children with parents and get families back together. We’ve done this in collaboration with the International Refugee Assistance Project and the UN Refugee Agency. We have staff in a number of locations around the world working to help Afghan refugees resettle to countries where they can rebuild their lives, and we’ve focused particularly on unaccompanied children. In response to this emergency, we are currently expanding our efforts to help Afghan refugees relocate to safety. 

Please consider supporting this urgent work today.

*For the safety of our staff and clients, we have redacted details that could put them at risk.