After nearly two decades at the Tongogara Refugee Settlement in Zimbabwe, Philosoph qualified for resettlement in the United States. He, his wife, and ten others were set to leave on January 21.
But just one day before, he received heartbreaking news. Due to an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump, their resettlement was canceled.
Philosoph, a father of six, heard the news while completing final departure formalities at International Organization for Migration facilities in Harare.
Philosoph, who asked that just his nickname be used because he fears retribution, was going to travel under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
The program started in Zimbabwe last year. Philosoph first came to Zimbabwe in 2005 from Rwanda, where state repression often makes life difficult for people who oppose the government.
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The executive order, which came the day of Trump’s inauguration, issued a stop-work order for all activities by the U.S. Agency for International Development, including resettlement of refugees. This week, USAID was apparently closed, its offices locked, and employees told to stay home.
The stop-work order is characterized as a “90-day pause,” but it’s unclear when — or if — USAID programs will resume.
In response to a Global Press Journal request for comment, the U.S. State Department confirmed that it has “suspended refugee arrivals and case processing activities.” It did not provide any other details.
More than 1,300 refugees from the settlement were resettled in the U.S. in 2024, and 887 new submissions were made that year, says Johanne Mhlanga, settlement administrator at Tongogara Refugee Settlement. The settlement is home to about 16,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, including Philosoph and his family.
In 2024, over 100,000 refugees were resettled in the U.S. through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. It is the highest number admitted in one year since 1994, according to a 2024 Refugee Council USA report.
African countries constituted the majority of admitted refugees.
Since 1980, more than 3.1 million refugees from various countries have been admitted to resettle in the U.S.
Kudzai Mwapaura, a lecturer at the Women’s University in Africa who published a study on the Tongogara Refugee Settlement in 2024, says the decision can exacerbate already challenging living conditions at camps like Tongogara. While the camp is structured to provide basic needs, resources are often strained, and the shift could lead to difficulties maintaining adequate services for its residents, he adds.
“Refugees may experience increased uncertainty, psychological stress, and a lack of access to basic resources as the hope for resettlement diminishes.”
The shift deals an emotional blow to Philosoph and other refugees.
“All I wanted was a better future for my children,” he says.
Refugees are demoralized, Mhlanga says, as their home countries continue to be rife with protracted conflicts.
Chris, who asked to use only his middle name for fear of retribution, fled war and persecution in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He hoped for a safe and secure life in the U.S. after being a refugee in Zimbabwe for 14 years.
“I envisioned a life with dignity, where I could provide for my family and contribute to my community,” he says.
Mhlanga says refugees must now wait some more and hope for a positive outcome during the 90-day pause noted in the executive order. The wait is particularly painful for those whose flights were abruptly canceled.
“They had to come back to the settlement, yet they had disposed of their assets and paid farewell to their relatives and friends,” Mhlanga says. “Imagine the pain!”
Philosoph gave all he owned to other refugees at the camp, including a small project involving pigs. Now, he has to start over.
Local integration is difficult, if not impossible, for refugees in Zimbabwe, who cannot get citizenship here. The country does not offer full resettlement, providing only a designated place for refugees to live.
“The policy position is that refugees will voluntarily return to their home countries once the situations that forced them to seek international protection have changed for the better,” Mhlanga says.
But the end result, Mhlanga says, is that refugees simply remain in Zimbabwe.
Philosoph says his life depends on bimonthly distributions from the World Food Programme, which sends food aid globally to refugees and other people in need.
Chris says policymakers need to consider the human cost of their decisions.
“Refugees like me are not statistics; we are people who deserve dignity, safety, and a chance to rebuild our lives,” he says.
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