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A30 world news
Diahuebs 19 augustus 2021

U.S. families mid-adoption trying to get Afghan children out

(AP) - After five frustrating years said. “I couldn’t really say much else Afghanistan safely,” Mujtaba said. five years ago.
mired in bureaucratic delays, Ba- other than ‘Go for it’ and ‘Be care-
haudin Mujtaba and wife Lisa ful.’” It’s unclear how many among the “I just basically fell in love with this
had hoped to finally bring the throngs of people trying to flee Af- little boy. And based on hearing ev-
10-year-old Afghan boy they’re The Taliban’s dramatic takeover of ghanistan include potential adop- erything, then we knew we had the
adopting to their home in Florida Afghanistan has reverberated world- tive children. One other U.S. family, means and the motivation to help
this year for a chance at a differ- wide, and for families like the Mu- based in Indiana, is working with the him,” he said.
ent future. jtabas, the fallout has been swift, same adoption agency as Mujtaba and
deeply personal and potentially life- is trying to get a 2-year-old boy out of The child’s mother died of cancer,
But with the collapse of the Afghan altering. Knowing the militant group the country. leaving the boy with his adult broth-
government, the couple is desperate- is almost certain not to uphold the ers and elderly father who is unable
ly trying to get the boy, Noman, on a adoption agreements from the col- Mary King, executive director of to care for him. Mujtaba described
flight out of Kabul -- going anywhere lapsed Afghan government, the Frank Adoption Center in Wake For- Noman as “a little boy who has big
-- before the chance to leave disap- American couple’s best hope is to get est, North Carolina, is working with dreams.” He loves music, gets top
pears. the boy out, fast. the families and said they had full per- grades in school and wants to become
mission from Afghan courts to bring an engineer or a doctor -- a profession
In the chaos following the Taliban Youtube video thumbnail the children to the U.S. and finalize Mujtaba said the boy may be drawn
takeover, Noman and another fam- “Once they get to the airport, it’s the adoptions. They were awaiting to because he’s has had to meet with
ily tried to get to the airport Tuesday just a matter of waiting time. But it’s U.S. visas, but everything changed in so many doctors.
through clogged streets, checkpoints a matter of waiting a few hours or a the past few days.
and gunfire but were forced to turn few days,” Bahaudin Mujtaba said. Noman appears to have diabetes and
back. Noman is currently in the custody of “This all came about much faster other medical issues, possibly stem-
another family trying to leave. than any of us anticipated, so we ming from nutrition problems, but
Mujtaba, who spoke to the boy and don’t know,” she said. “We have put Mujtaba said it’s not totally clear if
the family early Tuesday, said they Maybe they can get the boy to a near- them on every list. We’ve filled out the doctors in Afghanistan gave him
hope to try again to get to the airport by country. Maybe Pakistan. Wher- every form we’ve been told about. the right diagnosis or the treatments.
Wednesday. ever they go, he’s willing to fly there Their names are everywhere we can
and meet him. get them, as far as with the appropri- “That’s the environment, unfortu-
“I have tears in my eyes this morning ate U.S. authorities. And so now we nately, that you’re in, in Afghanistan,”
and my wife has tears in her eyes,” he “But the first goal is to get him out of are waiting to hear what may happen he said. “We’re not really sure exactly
next.” what the problems might be, once we
get here. He’s fine for a period of time
U.S. adoptions from Afghanistan are and then, unfortunately, he’s not.”
relatively rare compared with adop-
tions from other countries, accord- Mujtaba is an U.S. citizen who emi-
ing to State Department data. From grated from Afghanistan 40 years ago.
1999 through 2019, 41 Afghan chil- After the Taliban was displaced two
dren were adopted by U.S. families. decades ago, he returned in 2005 to
That’s far fewer than other countries the country of his birth for the first
in the region, including 148 children time in 20 years. He’s visited Noman
from Iran and 667 from Pakistan. 10 times over the past years, staying
Other countries, like China, Ukraine three to five weeks at a time.
and Colombia, have seen thousands
of children adopted by U.S. families His wife, who is American, has never
over the past two decades. been to Afghanistan or met the boy in
person because it seemed too danger-
The process in Afghanistan required ous to bring her, Mujtaba said.
working through the Afghan Fam-
ily Court, which limited the guard- King, whose agency primarily han-
ianship process to Muslim parents. dles international adoptions, said
Families that receive permission from her agency processed another adop-
the court can then bring a child to the tion from Afghanistan in 2017, but
U.S. to finalize an adoption, accord- they’ve never had to deal with a col-
ing to the State Department. lapsed government. She said her team
are working with the families to get
But under Taliban rule, it’s all but the children out, hoping to secure
certain not to be permitted now, Mu- emergency visas amid a situation she
jtaba said, especially from a family described as “very, very scary.”
based in the U.S.
“I’m watching this as their social
Mujtaba and his adoption agency worker. I cannot fathom what they
have reached out to Florida Sen. themselves are feeling and what these
Marco Rubio’s office for help. Muj- little boys are feeling,” she said.
taba has even offered to go to Afghan-
istan with the U.S. military, offering Mujtaba, a professor at Nova South-
his familiarity with the language and eastern University, said that though
culture in return for a chance to bring the adoption process had felt drawn
the boy home. out, they were hopeful that they were
close until about a week ago.
Rubio’s office confirmed it is work-
ing with Mujtaba and the adoption But now, he’s not sure when or if
agency but did not offer more details they will be able to bring the boy to
about what options the senator’s staff his new home in Fort Lauderdale.
was pursuing.
“I think that that’s in jeopardy now,”
Mujtaba and his wife agreed to adopt he said.
Noman, a distant relative, after Muj-
taba met him during a visit to Kabul