The browser you are using is not supported. Please consider using a modern browser.

Skip Navigation

Start of main content.

News // Refugee Resettlement

Global Refuge on CNN: We Must Protect Afghan Allies

Global Refuge Staff

July 29, 2021

Krish O'Mara Vignarajah is the president and chief executive of the Global Refuge. She previously served as a senior adviser at the State Department and as a policy director in the Obama administration. This Opinion piece originally appeared in CNN on July 28, 2021.

Sohail Pardis was on his way to pick up his sister in Afghanistan's Khost province for the upcoming Eid celebrations marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. What was supposed to be a joyous occasion turned into a horrific nightmare as he reached a Taliban-controlled checkpoint along his route to Kabul. As CNN reported Friday, villagers witnessed Taliban militants drag Pardis out of the vehicle and behead him.

This abhorrent act of violence was far from random — Pardis was one of the thousands of Afghan interpreters and allies who served alongside US personnel during two decades of war in Afghanistan. As a result, they and their family members live in constant fear of persecution, torture, and murder at the hands of a vengeful Taliban with growing power as the American withdrawal reaches 95% completion…

Read the Full Piece on CNN

Take Action For Afghan Allies

Visit our online hub to learn more about the dangers facing Afghan allies, our advocacy to protect them, video resources, and ways you and your community can make a difference.

Make a Donation

Thanks to a matching gift from a generous Global Refuge board member, your gift today will go so much further. Every dollar will be doubled, up to $10,000 providing much needed assistance for our Afghan friends.

The Latest

News

July 11, 2025

How will the One Big Beautiful Bill Act affect unaccompanied children?

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act makes sweeping changes to immigration. Here's how it impacts unaccompanied children, SIJS, and family detention.
Read More
News

July 8, 2025

How Does the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act Impact Refugees and Other Immigrants?

On July 4, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA) into law—a massive budget reconciliation bill that makes substantive and harmful changes to U.S. immigration policy.
Read More
Press Release · Refugee Resettlement

July 1, 2025

Statement on Senate Reconciliation Bill Targeting Immigrants and Refugees

The U.S. Senate passed a sweeping reconciliation bill that includes the most expansive immigration enforcement funding package in modern American history.
Read More
News

June 30, 2025

A Lifelong Commitment to Welcome

Vicki Schmidt has been a lifelong volunteer in support of refugee resettlement through Global Refuge.
Read More
Press Release · Refugee Resettlement

June 27, 2025

Supreme Court Limits Nationwide Injunctions, Narrowing Protections Against Birthright Citizenship Order

Supreme Court restricts the ability of lower federal courts to issue nationwide injunctions, narrowing protections against an executive order that seeks to curtail birthright citizenship.
Read More