Toddler Reunited With Parents In U.S After Being Left Behind In Afghanistan For Months

A 2-year-old boy who was left behind in Afghanistan in August after his parents had to leave for the U.S when the Taliban took control over the country has been reunited with his family, nine months later.

The toddler, identified as Hanzala Hadi, was barred from flying out with his parents at Kabul airport on Aug.16 as he did not have an Afghan passport, a prerequisite set by Qatar airlines, which handled all U.S.-bound Afghan refugees, NBC News reported.

After months of appeal and struggle to get back the child, the toddler boy eventually landed in New York on Wednesday."He is home now," N. Hadi, the child's father who has now resettled in Philadelphia, said.

When the U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan in August, the child's family rushed to the Kabul airport to flee the country. Amid the chaos at the airport, Hanzala and his father got separated from the rest of the family while his mother and 1-year-old brother managed to enter the gate.

N.Hadi had to spend hours inside the airport without water or food for his son while trying to access the gate. Fearing for Hanzala's life, he then called up his brother and asked him to take Hanzala, give him water and take care of him until they could be reunited inside the airport.

Hadi eventually managed to enter the gate, but when his brother tried to bring Hanzala to the entrance, he was sent back by Marines several times saying it was closed. "I was just trying to save Hanzala’s life," Hadi recollected. The family then had to reluctantly leave the country leaving their 2-year-old behind.

Several refugee organizations took up Hanzala's case and Hadi authorized his brother to escort Hanzala on a flight to Qatar. However, the Taliban halted all flights for Afghan refugees bound for the U.S. in January, and they were resumed only about a month ago. After appealing to the Biden administration and the Qatari government for months, the boy was safely reunited with his parents Wednesday, NBC DFW reported.

Meanwhile, Hadi secured a U.S. special immigrant visa as he worked with a private security company in Afghanistan that helped train Afghan national police, and his family members also received U.S immigrant visas.

According to reports, many Afghan families trying to resettle in the U.S or other countries face the risk of being detained, beaten or even killed while approaching passport offices for getting passports.