Controversy Over "Poor Meals" Among Refugees in the US Who Fled the Taliban... "Life as a Refugee Is Not Easy"

Photo by Hamed Ahmad Twitter

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Recently, a refugee who escaped from Afghanistan (Afgan) and is staying at a military base in El Paso, Texas, USA, sparked controversy by sharing a photo of the meal they were given.

According to the New York Post and others on the 2nd (local time), Afghan refugee Hamed Amadi posted on his social media (SNS) a photo of the distributed dinner along with the message, "I'm not complaining, but this is the food I ate last night, and the next meal time is in 12 hours," adding, "Life as a refugee may be safe, but it is never easy."

The lunchbox in the photo Amadi shared contained two pieces of chicken and a small amount of fruit.

After the photo was released, netizens responded with comments such as "Hang in there a little longer," "We support you," and "It's unfortunate that you received such food."

On the other hand, there were many opinions criticizing Amadi. Representative comments included, "Instead of being grateful to the US for saving Afghans, he is complaining about the side dishes," "The food was provided with taxes paid by American citizens, yet he complains," and "Go back to Afghanistan."

As the controversy grew, Amadi explained in an interview with the British Independent, "The post was not meant to complain or criticize," and "I wanted to show the reality that Afghan refugees are in situations they truly do not want to be in."

He continued, "If I could have written longer on Twitter, I would have explained in detail," and "I wanted to say that this is the real life of refugees."

Meanwhile, according to the US administration, more than 120,000 refugees were evacuated from Afghanistan by US military transport planes in July and August. Currently, about 30,000 Afghan refugees are residing at military bases in Wisconsin, Texas, and other locations in the United States.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.