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Fort McCoy Military Base, Wisconsin, USA – Ahmadzai * portrayed the birth of his first child as a regular affair of the Afghan family to give embroidered baby clothes and other gifts to relatives who visited his home in Kabul and to recite the Koran.
But Ahmadzai’s first child was born in a Wisconsin hospital and then returned Fort McCoy military base, where his family and thousands of others Refugees in Afghanistan they are awaiting immigration proceedings after being evacuated from Afghanistan when they were taken by the Taliban.
Ahmadzai, 25, like other parents of newborns at Fort McCoy, said welcoming the baby into the camp is bittersweet.
“It would be great if we had the baby in Kabul and we were all with my family,” he told Al Jazeera. “Our happiness would be doubled.”
He thanked her for the security and opportunity her new environment offers; he also deplored the fact that a new child was born in Afghanistan to share the joy of the ritual and the extended family.
Ahmadzai’s new son, Yasir, is one of more than 250 children born to Afghan evacuees at U.S. military bases since becoming Americans. the troops withdrew From Afghanistan in late August, the U.S. military reported.
“Newborn families receive the needs of various government and non-governmental organizations such as formula, diapers, wipes and clothing,” a spokesman for the U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) army told Al Jazeera in an email.
At Fort McCoy, families are asking the U.S. Army for anything else they need. The Red Cross is also active in providing humanitarian assistance at the grassroots level.
Missing family
Ahmadzai, who worked at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, said he had no choice but to flee his country. The Taliban took control When US and NATO troops withdrew from the capital Kabul in mid-August.
He and his family now live in a two-story barracks that houses thousands of Afghans at Fort McCoy. Each family hangs curtains and blankets provided by the Red Cross to create a private space inside of buildings.
About 30 people live on each floor. Families are assigned a space for beds and a small social and dining area.
“We are happy that our boy was born safe and sound, but we are disappointed right now because we are in a foreign country,” Ahmadzai said.
In Kabul, relatives bring gifts to the newborn: clothes, swings, strollers, blankets, cots and toys.
The family also gathers to recite the entire Koran known as the “Khatm ul Quran” on the sixth night of the child’s life.
In the U.S., Ahmadzai’s family received mostly oral congratulations from friends evacuated from his building.
“Everyone’s situation here is the same: what we wear and eat here, everyone does the same, so no complaints,” he said.
Another child, Mohammad, was born on November 2nd. The abbot, his father, said he is grateful to his wife for the medical care she received during and after her pregnancy.
He is the third child of the Mohammad family; They have two daughters aged 5 and 3 years.
“I am so happy that my son was born as a U.S. citizen,” Abade told Al Jazeera. “As he grows up, he will be in a mixed Afghan and American community, and that will be great for him.”
He said he is looking forward to organizing a ceremony and inviting Afghan and American residents to a celebratory meal when it is formally established in the U.S.
“It would be difficult for my son to learn well and be a successful person in Afghanistan because of the struggles and destruction there,” Abad said. “They have very good educational institutions here and my son will have access.”
Originally from the eastern Afghan province of Khost, Abad said he will try to teach his children Afghan culture and customs.
“I think my son is very lucky to be born here; we were born and raised in the war, and we’ve seen bloodshed in our country all our lives, so he’s lucky to have been born in a peaceful country, ”he said.
Chaotic evacuations
While the abbot and his family consider him happy, the chaotic retirement in the US he left many Afghans behind Those who worked with American forces. The rapid Taliban advance in Kabul in August prompted a major evacuation operation to help U.S. citizens, allies, and third-country nationals leave the country.
Although the U.S. administration says it helped air more than 124,000 people out of Kabul between the Taliban owner and the last U.S. soldier to leave the country, the operation was filled with violence and disorder.
The image showed Afghans hanging The planes were departing from Kabul airport the day after the Taliban took over the city. A suicide bombing Crowds at one of the airport gates it killed at least 175 people on August 25, including 13 U.S. service members.
At least three children were born in the evacuation. An Afghan woman gave birth in the cargo hold of a C-17 aircraft on an evacuation flight, and two others at a US military base in Ramstein, Germany. U.S. State Department rules mean that none of the three are automatically U.S. citizens because the plane and foreign base are not U.S. land.
An Afghan family was still taken to the U.S. during the operation has not found her 2-month-old baby after being handed over to U.S. forces in a bustle at Kabul airport.
Immigration advocates Washington has been criticized for failing to expedite the processing of Special Immigrant Visas for U.S. allies after it decided to withdraw its forces from the country.
Back in Fort McCoy, families say they are relaxing in the US.
Safi, an Afghan evacuee who worked with U.S. forces, is expecting a newborn daughter in two months. He said he and his wife are happy because he will be born in a quieter environment than they experienced growing up.
“Look at that, I worked for many years with American forces, then I waited for four years to get Special Immigrant Visas, but I ended up being evacuated in a very bad situation,” Safik told Al Jazeera. “But my daughter will automatically become a U.S. citizen when she is born.”
The expected baby will be the second daughter and fourth child of Sapphi’s family.
“I have always dreamed of living in a peaceful and free country where my children can learn and build their lives,” he said. “Now that dream of mine has come true when I came to America.”
* All interviewees are identified by nicknames or names for security reasons.
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