It is uplifting each Wednesday morning when we log on to zoom. They are usually waiting for us, even though we are right on time. Their faces light up and before we can say hello, they ask, “How are you, Mum? I am glad to see you, Mum!”
Zachary* and Maryam* are from Afghanistan. They are refugees currently in Islamabad, Pakistan waiting to be repatriated to the United States. The Off Ramp is sponsoring them through the Welcome Corps, a private sponsorship program with the U.S. State Department. With all the paperwork for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) completed we were simply waiting for travel authorization. On January 27th, their process came to an abrupt halt with the Executive Order suspending the processing and arrival of refugees to the United States for at least three months.
They were devastated. They longed to be settled. They longed for a home. They longed for freedom.
They were prepared to be patient, but they were not prepared for more danger and more displacement. The government of Pakistan decreed that all refugees from Afghanistan without a visa would be deported beginning on December 31, 2024. They began rounding up anyone without visas including women and children. They took them to the border where the Taliban were waiting.
Later after the U.S. Executive Order the government decided it did not matter if they had been accepted by the UNHCR or USRAP. Afghan refugees would be deported by March 31, 2025. Deportation would mean serious consequences for Zachary and Maryam, possibly even death.
While living in Afghanistan, Zachary and Maryam had made the decision to become Christians. They kept it hidden for some time. Word got out, and one night they learned their lives were in danger. They fled.
Unable to work in Pakistan and their status with USRAP worthless, they hunkered down in their tiny apartment. The two children did not attend school. Maryam only went out to purchase groceries.
The Off Ramp was able to work with a non-profit in Charlotte, NC to secure temporary visas for Zachary and Maryam. A few days later when we logged onto Zoom, we expected cheerful hopeful faces. Yet, Maryam’s was downcast. “Mum, I want to tell you something about myself. I am pregnant. Mum, I am scared. How can I take care of a baby in this situation? What kind of world is this baby coming into?”
For the next couple of months, it seems Zachary and Maryam are safe. That can change quickly. The Off Ramp is ready to welcome them as soon as it becomes possible. Meanwhile, we look for ways to support them as they travel the refugee highway. So, we will continue to encourage them using Zoom.
Today Maryam said, “Mum, every day I tell Zachary it is only four days until they call or three days until they call. Then on the day you call I tell him it is only six hours until they call or four hours until they call. And then when it is time I tell him to hurry and come to the phone.” Zachary made a video of Maryam teaching me how to make Biryani. Today we encouraged each other by saying, “One day we will make biryani in your home!”
Reverend Nell Green is Emeritus Field Personnel with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Co-Founder and Director of the non-profit organization, The Off Ramp.
*Names are changed for security and privacy purposes.
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