Released from ICE purgatory

Hasan (a pseudonym), a Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, and one of my interlocutors, was subjected to a ritualized bureaucracy. He was required to report to ICE for a routine check-in. Five months ago, as usual, when he showed up for a check-in, thinking it was a normal one, but instead, he was told he was on the "expedited removal" list. "You must come with us," recounted Hasan, his shock upon hearing those words, while he was standing in front of a few ICE officers ready to force him into a van.

Four ICE officers forced him into a white van and drove him away. "I didn't know where they were taking me," he told me, throwing up his hands, to explain his state of confusion and shock after the fact. He ends up at a detention center in the southernmost point, near the Mexican border. There, a large prison with different units and sections holds thousands of detainees awaiting deportation.

Hasan spent about five months in a legal and social purgatory in a total institution, which is designed to strip individuals of their humanity. 

Fortunately, he had a lawyer and was moving forward with his asylum case. His asylum application was finally approved while he was in detention, and he was released.

Hassan is a Hazara refugee from Afghanistan who worked for the US government and NGOs but failed to evacuate him during the fall of Kabul, leaving him exposed. He trekked his way through 11 countries to reach the US border. Like many others, he had crossed the border to claim his rights to protection, which were exposed by the US withdrawal.

Last night, I went to see him. He was on cloud nine. He was overjoyed and busy with overdue phone calls and text messages from his friends and family. Du-baarah zinda shudam, Nasim berar [I came back to life, brother Nasim], he told me while holding my hands on his as if we had not shaken hands for ages. 

He brought bombs on his people, now he opposes them

Well, Mr. Khalilzad! It's good to hear that you are against bombs. But during the 20 years of US occupation of Afghanistan, you supported the bombing of the southern regions. US forces, in just 2019, dropped roughly 7,423 bombs on Afghanistanis homes alone. Weren't you one of those who brought American bombers down on your own people? What happened that you suddenly became opposed to bombing? What's the difference between a Pakistani bomb and an American bomb? I haven't heard you criticize Americans for dropping bombs on Afghanistani homes.

Which one serves Pashtun interests and which one doesn't?

Which one, in your opinion, brings peace, and which one doesn't?

And more importantly, which one serves your interests? 

Throughout your memoir, you drone on about subservience and the sycophancy of the Republican leaders and warmonger generals. Once, a retired US official who served in Afghanistan and in the region told me: "Zal sycophantizes so much that I feel nauseous when I see him."

What happened that you are now opposed to bombs?

I am also opposed to bombs. Any kind of bomb. Whether dropped on Afghanistanis, on Palestinians in Gaza, Iran, or elsewhere. But I want to know why you suddenly became opposed to bombs. You were the one who sponsored the bombing of Afghanistan, especially the Pashtuns' homes?