Five years after the United States military withdrew and the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, millions of Afghans continue to live with the consequences of one of the largest political and humanitarian upheavals in recent history. The withdrawal reshaped not only Afghanistan but also the lives of Afghan refugees, asylum seekers, and diaspora communities across the world.
While many Afghans found safety through resettlement in North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe, they have also encountered new and evolving challenges, including rising anti-migrant sentiment, compounded with anti-Muslim sentiment, discrimination, digital hate campaigns and increasingly hostile immigration policies. In Pakistan, where millions of Afghans have lived for decades, mass deportations and growing political hostility have further deepened insecurity and displacement.
At the same time, the Taliban’s return to power has dramatically transformed Afghanistan itself. Severe restrictions on women’s rights, shrinking civic space, economic collapse, and the continued targeting of ethnic and religious minorities have reshaped the country’s social and political landscape while limiting opportunities for return.
Five years on, this anniversary offers an opportunity to examine how the global Afghan experience has evolved since 2021. What has changed for Afghan communities across different regions? How have governments, media, and digital platforms shaped public attitudes toward Afghans? And what policies are needed to better protect displaced Afghan communities and counter the organized harmful narratives that continue to fuel anti-Afghan and broader anti-migrant hatred?
This panel will bring together researchers, human rights advocates, journalists, and policy experts to examine the evolving realities facing Afghans across the world. The discussion will explore how anti-Afghan and broader anti-migrant narratives have evolved across different regions, the impact of increasingly restrictive immigration policies, the role of digital platforms in amplifying harmful narratives, and the policy responses needed to better protect displaced communities, while also highlighting the hopes and resilience that continue to define Afghans five years after the withdrawal.
Panelists
Mustafa Babak
Mustafa Babak, is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Afghan-American Foundation (AAF), a national organization dedicated to advancing Afghan American advocacy on issues affecting the community. In this role, he works to ensure that Afghan American perspectives inform national policy and public discourse, strengthen civic participation, and connect community leaders and advocates with policymakers. Mustafa also serves as an adjunct professor at Creighton University.
Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi
Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi is Head of the Afghanistan Desk at Deutsche Welle (DW). She is the author of two books published in Germany: Die Löwinnen von Afghanistan (“The Lionesses of Afghanistan”) and Rausländer, a title that plays on the German word for “foreigner” to confront anti-migrant rhetoric. Her work combines reporting on Afghan politics and the Afghan diaspora with analysis of racism, exclusion, and the experience of migrant communities in Germany and across Europe.
Mina Sharif
Mina Sharif is an Afghan Canadian author, speaker, and narrative strategist whose work explores displacement, identity, and belonging. After growing up in Canada, she spent nearly fifteen years living in Afghanistan before returning, giving her a unique perspective on migration and re-displacement. She leads narrative and strategic communications at a Canadian refugee-serving organization and is the author of Your War, Our Lives, a short story collection that explores everyday Afghan life beyond conflict narratives. Through her writing and public speaking, she contributes to conversations on the Afghan diaspora, narrative change, and refugee inclusion.
Moderator
Niala Mohammad
Program Lead, Islamophobia and Anti-Migrant Hate, Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH)
