Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  In the case of the Hazaras in Afghanistan, we have a situation where religion, race and ethnicity are inextricably entwined. When you see somebody with facial features that appear to be Hazara, there's this assumption that the person is Shia, whether or not that is the case. We know that there are Sunni Hazaras and there are Christian Hazaras.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I could echo some of what Ms. Ahmadi said. We do see these sorts of tensions between ethnicities, and whatnot. I think maybe what is more important to focus on is.... I have written a lot of country expert reports for Afghanistan, and particularly for Hazaras who are seeking asylum.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes, I absolutely would agree with a measure such as that. For those of us who.... I did research on Afghanistan, but also with Afghan refugees. We looked to the world's reaction to the war on Ukraine and the welcoming of Ukrainian refugees as the model that should have been applied to conflicts all over the world, and to people who are vulnerable or facing persecution or genocide all over the world.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I wasn't the one who mentioned the madrasas.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I apologize. I'm not sure who it was if it wasn't me. In the relatively recent history, we do know there has been a lot of foreign influence of madrasas from the Gulf region, where I am right now. I think there has been evidence of that. There is a pretty strong influence from Pakistan, of course.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I'm completely certain that this was a genocide. It hits all of the marks for the international legal definition of genocide. You clearly have an ethnic and religious group and there are documents from the time period that show they were targeted: the call for jihad against Hazaras because they were Shia.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes, I was there. The bulk of my research was done in 2012 and 2013, but I started going in 2009. Yes, it was relatively peaceful when I was there, but there has been a steady decrease in security for Hazaras over that time, which Mr. Rajabi touched on. We had probably the first really big mosque bombing targeting Hazaras in 2011, I believe.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to talk a little bit about and reiterate the devastation that the 1891-93 campaigns by Abdur Rahman had on the Hazara society in Afghanistan. My research in Afghanistan, which I've undertaken since 2009, focused on Hazara collective trauma and the Hazara community at large.