Some survivors of the 2021 drone strike are struggling in California as they wait for the U.S. to make good on a promised condolence payment.
by Alice Speri, The Intercept
Nearly two years after the U.S. killed 10 members of an Afghan family, including seven children, in a drone strike that prompted a rare apology from the Pentagon, the U.S. government has yet to make good on a pledge to compensate surviving relatives.
Weeks after the attack, which targeted an aid worker whom intelligence officials had mistaken for someone else, the U.S. made a public commitment to condolence payments and pledged to help survivors relocate. With the help of U.S. officials, some of those survivors made it to California last year, including two of the aid worker’s brothers, Emal and Romal Ahmadi, and their families.

As they struggle to adapt to life in a new country, however, they feel abandoned by the U.S. government, according to volunteers and community groups that have assisted them. One volunteer recently started a fundraiser to help cover some family members’ living costs while they wait for the U.S. government to deliver on its promise.
“They are living day to day in a very stressful environment of bills, and making sure they have their rent, and do they have enough food, and why did the utility bill go up this month?” Melissa Walton, who regularly visits members of the family, told The Intercept. “It’s stressful, and they didn’t ask for any of this, to have to leave their country and come to a different country and start over.”
Recent Posts
America First? No, Corporations First.
May 8, 2025
Take Action Now Big corporations donated heavily to Trump’s inaugural fund. Just a few months later, federal cases against them are being dropped.…
Columbia Facilitates The Arrest Of Over 70 Student Protestors By NYPD
May 8, 2025
Take Action Now Two individuals were led off campus by Columbia University Emergency Medical Service in stretchers.By Spencer Davis and Emily…
‘Aggressive Step’ Toward Privatization As Trump Picks FedEx Board Member To Lead USPS
May 7, 2025
Take Action Now “It is a blatant conflict of interest and an attempt by President Trump to install a handpicked loyalist who he believes will…
India And Pakistan, Both Nuclear Powers, On The Brink Of War
May 7, 2025
Take Action Now India’s missile attack shows that managing an India-Pakistan crisis is easier said than done.By Syed Ali Zia Jaffery, Bulletin of…