Afghan Student Exchange Program Cancelled

(Ottawa, Canada) In 2004, the U..S. State Department launched the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program for Afghan teens to come to America and attend U.S. high schools.

Students accepted into the program, which was created in 2004, are chosen from among more than 5,000 applicants across the country each year.

They are the brightest, the most articulate and the ones judged most likely to become the country's future leaders.

Unfortunately, despite all good intentions, the program has been cancelled. It seems that the majority of Afghan teens have used the program as an escape route from Asia.

After arriving in the U.S., most of the young Afghans pack their bags and head for Canada, seeking asylum. Staying in refugee centers, the apparently forget why they came to the New World and start building lives as future Canadian citizens.