Pen of Mercy has applied for the humanitarian parole visas for several Hazara Afghan refugee families currently in Pakistan. This visa if approved, will allow them to come to the USA for one year or two. which will give them enough time to apply for asylum to this country. We are currently accepting donations to help pay for their living costs once their visas are approved and they arrive to the USA.

Most of the children and women in these families are orphans and widows. According to the saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad ( Peace and Blessings be upon him ) “if you place your hand on an orphan's head with kindness(help her/him) you'll be rewarded as much as the number of his hairs under your hand.”
 Zakat money (obligatory tax in Islam) can be used for these families. They fit so many categories of people who are eligible to receive zakat. They are orphans; widows; displaced from their homes; poor; needy; and oppressed. No one wants to leave the comfort of their homes and their countries. They do it because they are forced to flee for their lives and to find a safe space for their children. Going back to the current patriarchal state run by the Taliban in Afghanistan is not an option for them. The Taliban do not allow females to work outside the house and girls are not allowed education in schools beyond the 6th grade. With no male protection, how will these women who are widows with daughters survive in a such a society? 

The Hazara tribe from Afghanistan has faced systematic genocide since decades. They have endured extreme violence, discrimination and persecution from both the Taliban and the ISIS members in Afghanistan. When the Taliban regime took control again in 2021 many of the Hazara families suddenly faced extreme acts of violence and killings, compelling them to flee to the border of Pakistan as refugees. They left their homes and all their belongings in order to find safety from the harm. These families have been in Pakistan since Aug 2021 where they are in hiding since Oct 31, 2023 when the government of Pakistan decided to deport back all refugees from Afghanistan without regard to the vulnerability of their situation. Their first year in Pakistan they lived in make shift tents in a public park in Islamabad without access to clean water or suitable restrooms. Exposed to the rain, mosquitos and all the elements of such a life. In the last two and half years in Pakistan they have had little to no access to basic human needs, such as safety, shelter, clean water, food, education for their children and healthcare.

Read more about the history of violence against the Hazaras in the Hazara Inquiry; a paper published by the parliamentarians of UK.