The US ended Temporary Protected Status for Afghanistan on Monday, with officials assessing that the country is safe enough for Afghans to return to.
The Department of Homeland Security made the announcement in mid-May, with the termination taking effect on July 14.
The department said at the time that “conditions in Afghanistan no longer meet the statutory requirements” for TPS, which provides protection from deportation as well as the ability to work in the US to citizens of countries experiencing conflict or other crises.
TPS for Afghanistan was granted in 2022. The US withdrew its last troops from the country in August 2021, after the Taliban had seized control across Afghanistan and the US-backed security forces collapsed. The ignominious end to America's longest war continues to drive bitter debate in Washington.
Amid the chaotic withdrawal, Afghans who had worked with the US military fled the country out of fear of reprisals. Others, including soldiers, civil society leaders and former government employees, also left, flooding into neighbouring countries or making their way to the West.
It is estimated that as many as 11,700 Afghans have received TPS, though this can be held concurrently with another status that would allow a person to remain in the US.
Laila Ayub, co-founder of the Afghan community immigration justice organisation Project Anar, said the revocation of TPS leaves thousands of people in limbo. She said that taking away authorisation to work makes it more difficult for Afghans to have a sense of stability.
“Many people need that to have housing or, of course, to be able to work, but it'll impact many other things in their life very immediately as well, and it's taking away that protection that all these things really add up,” she told The National.
Ms Ayub, whose community immigration justice organisation was formed and led by Afghan-American women, highlighted the contradiction that the US sees Afghanistan as stable enough for citizens to return, but also includes the country on its travel ban list.
Last month, people from Afghanistan, and 11 other nations, were banned from entering the US after it was flagged as high risk because of the level of extremist activity there.
“Their justification for including all of the countries [in the travel ban] is that that country's government can't meet US standards for security and vetting and all these things,” Ms Ayub said. “But the impact is clear that all of it is making it harder for people here and for people pursuing pathways to the US.”
Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, echoed that fear, saying it was a “really scary time for veterans, for our allies”.
“We hope to not see a bunch of Afghans being deported, but it seems like that's the path that we're on,” Mr VanDiver, whose organisation works to protect people who worked with US soldiers during the war.
“It seems like the truth is that the US government policy with regard to Afghanistan and relocations is still under review, but all of the indications are that they're trying to shut it all down.”
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
New schools in Dubai
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
