Hasina Nasimi had been eagerly anticipating January 27, 2025, the date when she and her husband, along with their four children, were scheduled to fly to Denver, Colorado. Her brother, four sisters, and mother were already settled there, rebuilding their lives after escaping from Afghanistan.
Tragically, Nasimi’s father and brother lost their lives at the hands of the Taliban; her brother was shot in 2018 due to the family’s eldest son, Mohammad, having served as a translator for American troops during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Following this incident, the family faced continuous threats and had to live in a state of vigilance. The resurgence of the Taliban in August 2021 confirmed their need to flee.
However, on January 20, 2025, just a week before their intended departure from Qatar—where they had been evacuated by the United States—President Donald Trump issued an executive order halting refugee processing. Despite having been vetted and approved for travel, the Nasimi family’s plans were abruptly canceled.
Currently, they are among 1,100 Afghans, including at least 700 women and children, who were evacuated by the U.S. for resettlement. Stuck in Qatar, they now risk being relocated to another conflict-ridden nation: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Recent reports indicated that the Trump administration was negotiating to send Afghans who had aided U.S. forces to the DRC instead of allowing them to settle in the U.S. as promised.
Nasimi’s family has made it clear they refuse to go to the DRC, a place they are unfamiliar with, far from their relatives in Colorado, lacking an Afghan community, and where they do not speak the language. They believe that returning to Afghanistan, despite the imminent danger, would be “better than going there.”
After arriving in Qatar in December 2024, shortly after the birth of her fourth child, Nasimi expected a brief stay at the As-Sayliyah camp. However, their stay has extended into almost a year and a half of uncertainty.
“People are losing their minds here,” Nasimi describes the atmosphere in Qatar. “There is unrelenting fear. Women have given birth prematurely due to the stress and trauma, and there have even been suicide attempts.”
Conditions in the camp have worsened since the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. “We heard missiles flying overhead, and fragments from intercepted ones hit our roof,” Nasimi recounts. The residents live in constant fear that their presence in a U.S. facility might make them targets for Iran.
The As-Sayliyah camp was intended to serve as a temporary processing center for families awaiting resettlement, not as a long-term living space. Families are housed in containers within a hangar, sharing communal restrooms and kitchens, with no formal education available for children and restrictions preventing them from leaving the area.
Zahra Muhib, who arrived in Qatar at the age of 13 just before Trump took office, intended to stay for only a few days. Now 15, she has celebrated her second birthday in what she describes as “hell” and “a prison.”
Her parents were officers in the Afghan armed forces during the U.S. presence in the country. However, after the Taliban regained control in 2021, many of their former colleagues were detained and never seen again. After receiving threats, the family sought refuge and were eventually offered resettlement in the U.S. under the P1 visa program.
With new dreams of attending school and pursuing higher education, Zahra felt a glimmer of hope. Today, she shares a cramped container with her parents and her 11-year-old brother. “I’ve been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and I’m on medication now. I hardly sleep at night and have developed an unrelenting skin rash,” she shares. “When I was finally allowed to go to the hospital with my dad, they put GPS trackers on us so we wouldn’t escape.”
Zahra states she would comply with relocation to the DRC if necessary. “Going home is not an option because it’s unsafe, so I’d go anywhere,” she expresses, feeling “exhausted from the uncertainty.”
Although some informal classes were offered at the camp, Zahra notes the absence of structured education and spends most of her time isolated and withdrawn. “I’ve been out of school for four years due to the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education,” she reflects. “Four years filled with sadness. I love all countries, but there’s no quality education in the DRC, and healthcare is inadequate. My life has been on hold since the Taliban returned, and I don’t believe I can start dreaming big in the DRC.”
Shawn VanDiver, founder and president of AfghanEvac, an NGO dedicated to assisting Afghans who collaborated with U.S. forces, asserts that the government is failing to honor its obligations to those who supported it for two decades. “The only viable solution is to bring them to America,” he asserts.
VanDiver raises concerns about relocating families, especially children like Zahra, to the DRC. “The DRC is currently experiencing conflict and is already home to over 600,000 refugees. It lacks the necessary infrastructure, legal protections, or community support for successful resettlement.”
The State Department is reportedly offering financial incentives to residents at As-Sayliyah to return to Afghanistan and abandon their immigration cases in the U.S.: $4,500 for the primary applicant and $1,200 for each family member, according to VanDiver.
However, Zahra’s mother, Samargul, age 34, insists that returning to Afghanistan is not an option. The family cannot seek refuge in another country either: “Because we have an open immigration case with the U.S., no other country will consider accepting us,” Zahra explains.
“These families have risked their lives for the U.S. Sending them to the DRC is a tremendous injustice and not a fair or viable option,” commented a source familiar with the situation who requested anonymity. “The State Department under the Trump administration is desperate to resolve this issue. An additional 150,000 Afghans with ties to the U.S. remain stranded in Afghanistan and Pakistan, waiting for processing,” the source added.
