Panel Description

Join us for Compassionate Exclusion: Afghan Stories of Seeking Refuge in America, a powerful panel discussion that delves into the challenges of the U.S. response to Afghan immigration needs post-2021 evacuation. Featuring perspectives from lawyers, scholars, and Afghan refugees, this event explores the immediate and long-term impacts of U.S. foreign policy on those seeking refuge.

Panelists will share firsthand accounts of the evacuation, discuss the complexities of navigating the U.S. immigration system, and highlight how individuals and organizations like ANAR are addressing critical gaps. Attendees will gain insight into the human cost of U.S. policy, the unsettling need to prove one's vulnerability for aid, and the experiences of Afghans seeking safety. This panel offers a unique conversation blending lived experience and professional insight, fostering a deeper understanding of the ongoing journey for Afghan refugees in America.

Panelists

Mejgan Massoumi, Historian (Moderator)

Dr. Mejgan Massoumi is currently an ACLS (American Council of Learned Societies) Fellow and a Visiting Scholar of the Center for South Asia at Stanford University. In August of 2025, she will be Assistant Professor of History at Carnegie Mellon University. Her specializations are in Afghanistan Studies, Inter-Asian history, Media and Communication History, the Muslim World, Persianate Studies, and Sound Studies. Dr. Massoumi received a PhD in History at Stanford University in 2021. Her dissertation on which her forthcoming book is based on, “The Sounds of Kabul: Rdio and the Politics of Popular Culture in Afghanistan, 1960-79,”was awarded the World History Association’s 2023-24 best dissertation prize. Having earned previous degrees in Architecture (B.A.) and City Planning (M.C.P) from the University of California at Berkeley, the foundation of her scholarship is built upon a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspective. https://www.mejganmassoumi.info/ 

Layla Ayub, Lawyer and Co-Founder of ANAR

Laila Ayub is a lawyer and Co-Founder/Director of ANAR, an Afghan community-based immigration justice organization. Ayub helped launch ANAR in August 2021. Laila has five years of experience in immigration defense, coordinating advocacy and litigation efforts, release campaigns, working alongside dozens of primarily detained asylum seekers. Her work has been recognized and published in news platforms across the U.S. She was recognized with the 2024 American Immigration Lawyers Association Young Lawyer Award. www.projectanar.org

Halima Kazem, Historian and Filmmaker

Dr. Halima Kazem is an Oral Historian and Project Manager for Stanford University’s Hoover Afghanistan Research and Relief Team. She is also a post-doctoral fellow at the University of California Santa Cruz and her research focuses on feminism, empire, and resistance in Afghanistan. She holds a Ph.D. in Feminist Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz and Master’s in Business and Economic Journalism from New York University. From 2012-2022, Kazem was a journalism and human rights lecturer at San Jose State University. She spent 17 years as a journalist and filmmaker, including a decade reporting on Afghanistan's war and rebuilding efforts. Her articles have been published widely including in the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, and Al Jazeera. Kazem worked as human rights researcher for Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and as a journalism instructor for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. She is the co-producer of Frontrunner, a documentary chronicling the campaign of the first female presidential candidate in Afghanistan. https://www.halimakazem.com/ 

Nasiruddin Nezaami, Visiting Scholar at Stanford Global Studies Program and Assistant Professor of Law at AUAF

Nasiruddin Nezaami is a Visiting Scholar at Stanford Global Studies Program and an Assistant Professor of Law at the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF). He has previously held a fellow position at Stanford Law School and a non-residential research fellowship at the Information Society Law Center at the University of Milan. He started his career as an assistant law professor at Kabul University, serving as Vice-Dean for the Faculty of Law and Political Science. He holds an LLM from the University of Washington and an LLB from Kabul University.  He has worked with several organizations as an independent consultant. His publications include a co-editorial book titled, “Governance and Management in Higher Education: Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning,” and many articles published in reputable journals.