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New life, new struggles: Afghans still adjusting to US

Susan Esmaelzade, 28, waits for her sisters in a hotel where they are staying, Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in San Diego. For many of the Afghans who came to the United States in the historic evacuation, their journey remains very much a work in progress, filled with uncertainty and anxiety about the future. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Gulsom Esmaelzade, 35, right, sits with her sisters, Shoriya Esmaelzade, 34, left, and Susan Esmaelzade, 28, in a hotel room where Susan sleeps, Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in San Diego. The family has been shuttled among hotel rooms in the San Diego area since January, after spending three months at a New Jersey military base. "We don't have anything back at home in Afghanistan and here we also don't have any future," said Gulsom. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Gulsom Esmaelzade, 35, left, gets in an elevator with her sister Susan Esmaelzade, 28, at a hotel, Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in San Diego. For many of the Afghans who came to the United States in the historic evacuation, their journey remains very much a work in progress, filled with uncertainty and anxiety about the future. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Shoriya Esmaelzade, 34, sits in a hotel room where her younger sister sleeps, Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in San Diego. Esmaelzade and her two sisters stay in separate rooms in the same hotel. For many of the Afghans who came to the United States in the historic evacuation, their journey remains very much a work in progress, filled with uncertainty and anxiety about the future. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Gulsom Esmaelzade, 35, right, sits with her sisters, Shoriya Esmaelzade, 34, left, and Susan Esmaelzade, 28, in a hotel room where Susan sleeps, Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in San Diego. The family has been shuttled among hotel rooms in the San Diego area since January, after spending three months at a New Jersey military base. "We don't have anything back at home in Afghanistan and here we also don't have any future," said Gulsom. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Imran Safi, 10, right, and his sister Hanzala Safi, 8, dance for a social media video being recorded by their mother, while celebrating Eid with their family with a family outing to the National Mall, Tuesday, May 3, 2022, near the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and is trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) The Safi family celebrates Eid by taking family photographs on the National Mall, Tuesday, May 3, 2022, near the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and is trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Imran Safi, 10, is warmly greeted by his grandmother Fawzi Safi, 71, as he returns after school to the apartment in Alexandria, Va., Tuesday, May 3, 2022. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and is trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Dressed up for Eid celebrations, Madina Safi, speaks with her children, Imran, 10, and his sister Asenat Safi, 4, in their room at the apartment in Alexandria, Va., Tuesday, May 3, 2022. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and is trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) The Safi family celebrates Eid with family friends, who were also evacuated from Afghanistan, at their rented apartment in Alexandria, Va., Tuesday, May 3, 2022. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and is trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Hanzala Safi, 8, and her sister Asenat Safi, 4, dress paper dolls in an activity book at their family's apartment in Alexandria, Va., Monday, April 11, 2022. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and is trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Arafat Safi updates his resume on a laptop as his daughter Hanzala Safi, 8, unpacks her school work, at the family's rented apartment in Alexandria, Va., Monday, April 11, 2022. The rug in front of them is one of few items they were able to take with them from Afghanistan, folded up into a bag. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and is trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Mohammad Safi, 6, runs across the parking lot of his apartment complex, followed by his siblings, Irfan, 10, and Hanzala, 8, and their father Arafat Safi, after school in Alexandria, Va., Tuesday, May 3, 2022. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and are trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Mohammad Safi, 6, opens his mouth wide so his father, Arafat Safi, can check his recent dental extractions, as Safi picks his children up from school in Alexandria, Va., Tuesday, May 3, 2022. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and are trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Mohammad Safi, 6, turns to look at his father, Arafat Safi, as he picks three of his four children up from school, in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, April 7, 2022. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and is trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Marjan Enayt, 18, right, who is also a recent refugee from Afghanistan, claps excitedly as Madina Safi, 28, lets her know they have finished unloading loaves of bread, as Safi trains Enayt in the bakery department at Giant, a grocery store in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, April 14, 2022. Safi and her family were evacuated from Afghanistan and are trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Madina Safi, 28, top, trains Marjan Enayt, 18, who is also a recent refugee from Afghanistan, as they work in the bakery department at Giant, a grocery store in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, April 14, 2022. Safi and family were evacuated from Afghanistan and are trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Madina Safi, 28, participates in an online English class on her phone during her break in the bakery department at Giant, a grocery store in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, April 14, 2022. She and her family were evacuated from Afghanistan and are trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Wearing a head scarf in honor of the month of Ramadan, Madina Safi, 28, works in the bakery department at Giant, a grocery store in Alexandria, Va., while fasting, Thursday, April 14, 2022. She and her family were evacuated from Afghanistan and are trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Madina Safi is dropped off for her job in the grocery store bakery at Giant by her husband, in Alexandria, Va., Monday, April 11, 2022. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and is trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Hanzala Safi, 8, hugs her mother Madina Safi, after a meal celebrating Eid at the family's apartment in Alexandria, Va., Tuesday, May 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Fawzi Safi, 71, tears up while talking about girls in Afghanistan who are being denied an education, Thursday, April 7, 2022, in Alexandria, Va., where she now lives with her son's family. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and is trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Hanzala Safi, 8, center, and her brother Mohammad Safi, 6, climb a ropes course by their grandmother Fawzi Safi, 71, at a playground in Alexandria, Va., Monday, April 11, 2022. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and is trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Arafat Safi, is wrapped in a bear hug by his daughter Hanzala Safi, 8, as he picks up his children from school, in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, April 7, 2022. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and is trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Asenat Safi, 4, kisses her grandmother Fawzi Safi, 71, at the family's apartment in Alexandria, Va., Thursday, April 7, 2022. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and is trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) The Safi family celebrates Eid by taking family photographs on the National Mall, Tuesday, May 3, 2022, near the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The family was evacuated from Afghanistan and is trying to make a new life in the U.S., while in immigration limbo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) From his apartment in Hyattsville, Md., Hasibullah Hasrat, 29, holds his phone showing a photograph of his children, Jamalnaser, 4, and Elina, 1, Wednesday, May 4, 2022, sent to him by his wife in Afghanistan from the children's joint birthday party this April. Hasrat has been separated from his children for so long that his 1-year-old doesn't recognize him and his 4-year-old asks him each time they talk where he is and why he cannot see him. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Hasibullah Hasrat, 29, poses for a portrait at his apartment in Hyattsville, Md., Wednesday, May 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Hasibullah Hasrat, 29, becomes emotional talking about his family, who he has been separated from for a year, at his apartment in Hyattsville, Md., Wednesday, May 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Hasibullah Hasrat, 29, is interviewed at his apartment, in Hyattsville, Md., Wednesday, May 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)