Afghan Americans rally against collective blame
WASHINGTON: Afghan Americans from different neighbourhoods gathered outside the White House to urge the US administration not to hold an entire community responsible for the actions of a few individuals.
Amid heightened scrutiny of Afghan nationals, following reports of alleged involvement in terrorism-related incidents in the United States, the Hazara community on Sunday organised the rally to press the authorities to take a lenient view.
The US Justice Department announced on the same day, that Afghan-born permanent resident Abdullah Hajizada had been sentenced last week to 15 years in federal prison. Hajizada, 17 at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply firearms and ammunition for an ISIS-inspired plan to carry out a terrorist attack on election day in November 2024.
He had allegedly obtained two AK47-style rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition, “knowing they would be used to commit a violent federal crime,” the Department of Justice said. Upon completion of his sentence, US authorities will remove Hajizada to Afghanistan and terminate his permanent-resident status.
Afghans For A Better Tomorrow representative notes Lakanwal ‘worked alongside US Special Operations forces in CIA-backed covert units’
US authorities may also deport the family of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who shot two National Guard soldiers in Washington last week, one of whom later died. A day earlier, Afghan national Mohammad Dawood Alokozay was arrested in Texas for allegedly making terror-related threats.
“Criminal responsibility lies with the individual, and the actions of one person should never be used to stigmatise or punish an entire community, immigrant group, or ethnic minority,” said the Hazara American Community. The community, which organised Sunday’s rally, has long faced targeting in Afghanistan because of their religious beliefs and ethnic heritage.
Afghan-American evacuees and immigrant-rights organisations have spoken out against collective blame.
“Regardless of the alleged perpetrator’s nationality, religion, or legal status,” said Matthew Soerens, vice president of World Relief, “we urge our country to recognise these actions as those of one person, not to unfairly judge others who share the same characteristics.”
Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, said many in the Afghan refugee community are terrified. “People are acting xenophobic because of one deranged man. He doesn’t represent all Afghans. He represents himself,” VanDiver said.
“The perpetrator should face accountability, but the entire Afghan community must not be punished,” said Richard Bennett, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan.
Arash Azizzada, co-director of Afghans For A Better Tomorrow, warned against “using this tragedy to demonise, criminalise, or target an entire community.”
He also noted that Lakanwal “worked alongside US Special Operations forces in CIA-backed covert units that operated without oversight and have a documented history of human rights abuses against Afghan civilians over two decades.”
Also, Evacuate Our Allies condemned the attack but denounced the “alarming vilification of an entire community based on the actions of a lone individual.”
The group added: “Collective blame is not only unjust but dangerous. It undermines the immense sacrifices our nation’s Afghan allies made — sacrifices that cost many their safety, homes, loved ones, and, in too many cases, their lives.”
Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2025
from Dawn - Home https://ift.tt/njUoklD
https://ift.tt/1ICVZS4
Comments
Post a Comment