For tens of thousands of Afghans, the sudden end of the Afghanistan war marked the start of an unexpected odyssey.
It began with a frantic escape from their homeland and continues to this day in the comparative safety of the US, where many are still grappling with immigration issues.
Qasim Rahimi remembers August 15, 2021, like it was yesterday.
The former director of public awareness at Afghanistan's national environmental agency was busy at the office, despite it being a Sunday, when Taliban forces swept into Kabul.
Mr Rahimi is a former journalist and perhaps mostly critically a Hazara, the most persecuted ethnic group in Afghanistan.
He knew immediately that the Afghanistan he knew and had thrived in was no more. At the behest of his mother, he quickly fled the city and hatched a plan to leave the country.
Eventually, he was able to make it through the gates of Hamid Karzai International Airport and was put on a US military plane to Spain.
From there, he was sent to Germany and then on to Washington, where he was granted humanitarian parole and sent to Fort McCoy, a US Army base in Wisconsin.
“I was there for September, October and November, so about three months,” Mr Rahimi told The National.
With the help of Catholic Charities, a religious organisation that helps resettle refugees, he began navigating America's complex immigration system.
“They helped me with paperwork for the resettlement and with finding a job and some social services,” he said.
The final hours of the Afghanistan war – in pictures
According to the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, more than 97,000 Afghans have lawfully arrived in the US since August 2021.
Mr Rahimi's story mirrors those of thousands of his fellow compatriots that have become refugees.
Najeeb, an office administrator from Kabul, had mere hours to pack up his life and flee following the Taliban takeover of the Afghan capital.
Thanks to his connections to a western company, Najeeb was able to leave Kabul along with his family on a flight to Qatar under Operation Allies Welcome, the US-led evacuation operation. More than 83,000 Afghans came to the US as a result of the airlift.
After a transfer to the US airbase in Ramstein, Germany, where they spent 45 days, Najeeb and his family were eventually flown to another military base in the US in October 2021 and granted humanitarian parole for two years.
Under the temporary authorisation to live and work in the US, parolees like Najeeb and Mr Rahimi had to apply for asylum to permanently settle as refugees.
This process has been tough for many Afghans, who have had to navigate a complicated online system.
“Most Afghans are not familiar with these systems and the online submitting of applications or how to fill the form,” Najeeb told The National.
“You don't know how to answer those questions because most are not very clear. So that makes it a little bit complicated”.
Many Afghans have had to rely on lawyers volunteering their time or non-government groups and religious charities to help them navigate the asylum application process.
Najeeb was eventually able to file the forms for himself and his family, but after nearly eight months, he has not heard back from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency about the status of their asylum application.
Adjusting to life in Virginia, where Najeeb now lives, has not been easy. His qualifications are not recognised in the US and college classes are out of reach, as Afghans on temporary visas are forced to pay “out of state” tuition fees, which in America can quickly stretch into tens of thousands of dollars per year.
“We have a lot of issues related to our status,” Najeeb said. “It's not very convenient for us in this condition because we don't know what will happen or when they [immigration authorities] will approve our cases.”
Mr Rahimi has been more fortunate. His asylum was granted earlier in June, a huge relief for the 34-year-old.
But he, too, has struggled to adjust to life in America. Once a prominent journalist, he has found it difficult to work in the field after settling in Kansas City, Missouri.
“I am looking to find work in journalism,” Mr Rahimi said. “Because I have experience, my education is in journalism, but because English is not my first language, it has been difficult.”
While he works on his English, he has found fulfilling work as an immigrant specialist at the Jewish Vocational Services of Kansas City, a job that allows him to help others like him who are navigating the complex and at times exacerbating system.
As he has became more and more familiar with the system, he has come to the painful realisation that he has no path forward to bringing his mother to the US.
“There is no approach, there is not any law or authorisation, through which I can help my sister and I can help my mother,” he lamented.
Last month, US authorities extended by another two years the two-year “parole” period for Afghans in the US, to give them more time to apply for asylum.
A broader measure, called the Afghan Adjustment Act, that would offer people on humanitarian parole a path to US citizenship, is stalled in Congress amid Republican opposition.
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
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Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
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%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Scores:
Day 4
England 290 & 346
Sri Lanka 336 & 226-7 (target 301)
Sri Lanka require another 75 runs with three wickets remaining
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Mountain Classification Tour de France after Stage 8 on Saturday:
- 1. Lilian Calmejane (France / Direct Energie) 11
- 2. Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana) 10
- 3. Daniel Martin (Ireland / Quick-Step) 8
- 4. Robert Gesink (Netherlands / LottoNL) 8
- 5. Warren Barguil (France / Sunweb) 7
- 6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 6
- 7. Guillaume Martin (France / Wanty) 6
- 8. Jan Bakelants (Belgium / AG2R) 5
- 9. Serge Pauwels (Belgium / Dimension Data) 5
- 10. Richie Porte (Australia / BMC Racing) 4
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
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:
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
