Every summer, the small coastal town of Shengjin in northern Albania becomes a hot spot for tourists from Albania and Kosovo. But following the fall of Kabul in August 2021, the Rafaelo hotel complex, at the heart of the town, also became home to thousands of Afghan refugees who had to flee their country. A place of leisure for some, it became a purgatory for others, stuck in a state of limbo where they cling to the hope of securing visas that could open the doors to a new life in the United States or Canada.