Last month 53 Afghans arrived at a camp 60 miles outside Sao Paulo in Brazil in time to celebrate Iftar, the traditional Muslim meal ending Ramadan. Most are Hazara Muslims who worked for a U.S.-based NGO and came under threats from the now-ruling Taliban. At least 100 more from Afghanistan are expected to join them. Their resettlement is a first for Brazil.
The largest country in South America does not have a refugee program for Afghans or funds for resettlement, but the government agreed to approve humanitarian visas for hundreds of Afghans when it became clear they would not be allowed refuge in other countries—including the United States and European nations that led the war effort in Afghanistan.
Many of these new arrivals didn’t have passports when the United States announced its sudden withdrawal from Afghanistan last year. U.S. Christian groups and Baptist churches in Brazil for months worked with diplomats to clear their path.
“They faced particular threats and were hiding in…