A two-year-old Afghan boy has been reunited with his parents in the United States after having been stuck in Afghanistan for the past nine months, the child's father told NBC News.
The parents of Hanzala Hadi had to leave their young son behind during the chaos at Kabul airport in August as American troops withdrew and the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan.
The boy was barred from flying out to join his father and mother because he did not have an Afghan passport, a requirement set by the country of Qatar, which oversees flights for all Afghan refugees bound for the United States.
Hadi now lives in Philadelphia with his family
The family appealed for help from the Biden administration and the Qatari government to get Hanzala out of Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the Taliban halted all flights out late last year for Afghan refugees bound for the U.S., according to the Business Standard. The said flights only resumed about a month ago.
The boy's father, N. Hadi, delivered some good news, saying in an interview that his son is finally home. The boy landed on Wednesday, June 1, in New York, where both his parents greeted him.
Hanzala's parents and younger brother have resettled in the city of Philadelphia. His father has a U.S. special immigrant visa because of his work with a private security company that helped train Afghan national police. As a result, N. Hadi's immediate family automatically qualified for U.S. visas.
Exclusive from @dandeluce A two-year-old boy has been reunited with his parents in the U.S. after being stuck in Afghanistan for nine months. The parents of little Hanzala Hadi had to leave their son behind amid the chaos as the Taliban seized control.https://t.co/YGiHIvMV25
— NBC Investigations (@NBCInvestigates) June 1, 2022
N. Hadi and his family headed toward Kabul's airport on August 16 but soon became trapped in the crush of people trying to flee Afghanistan as U.S. troops pulled out amidst the Taliban onslaught.
N. Hadi and his two-year-old son, Hanzala, got separated from the rest of the family in the chaos. His wife and their 1-year-old son eventually managed to reach the airport gate, and the Marines let them both in.
That was not the case for N. Hadi and his son when they tried to gain entry, as they were both turned away by American personnel. N. Hadi struggled to hold his young son and protect him as desperate Afghans shoved their way to the front, and Taliban fighters beat people back. They were getting weak as they spent hours in the heat with no water left in their belongings.
Hanzala Hadi reunited with family after a very long wait
Worried for his son's safety, N. Hadi pulled back and called one of his brothers for help. He asked his brother to take his son Hanzala, give him water and keep him safe until they could be reunited inside the Kabul airport.
After N. Hadi handed over the little boy, he made it inside the airport, where he found his wife and youngest son. N. Hadi's brother tried to take Hanzala to the entrance of the airport several times, but the Marines said the gate was closed. Hadi's family had to make a difficult choice as they reluctantly flew out of the country four days later without their son.
Refugee organizations took up Hadi's case, and after months of waiting, the family is finally whole again. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 2.6 million registered Afghan refugees worldwide.
