海角大神

With toasters and empathy, former refugees welcome Afghans to US

For many Americans, it鈥檚 difficult to imagine what the tens of thousands of newly arrived Afghan refugees are going through.聽

But Arshad Mehmood doesn鈥檛 have to imagine. He knows. Only seven years ago, Mr. Mehmood was in their shoes, fleeing Pakistan.聽He describes being聽kidnapped and tortured by the Taliban for being a local politician.聽

Now, as the regional coordinator for a national nonprofit, Mr. Mehmood as well as his team in northern Virginia, many of whom are refugees themselves, is helping these new arrivals with everything from finding apartments to translating school enrollment forms from English to Pashto. They have assisted more than 80 Afghan families over the past three months and expect to help almost 200 by the end of the year.

And while this practical aid is important, says Mr. Mehmood, it鈥檚 not what newly evacuated Afghan allies need most right now. That would be encouragement and empathy. And聽here in Virginia,聽Afghans are finding this support in local communities 鈥� especially from the refugees who came before them.

鈥淓nglish was my third language, but I did it. We live a good life here,鈥� says Mr. Mehmood. His wife, who is a manager at T.J. Maxx, feels welcomed to wear her hijab on the job. His daughter will start her first year of college this fall, and his son is a defensive star on his American football team.聽

鈥淲e have to tell them these successful stories,鈥� says Mr. Mehmood. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what they need to hear right now.鈥澛�

There has also been an outpouring of support from U.S. citizens in northern Virginia, with mosques and聽聽posting requests on social media for locals to stop bringing donations after they ran out of room. 鈥淲e are at full capacity,鈥� reads a hot pink poster board outside the Mustafa Center, an Islamic community center in Annandale, Virginia, which raised聽聽for displaced families during August.聽

At the Lutheran Social Services office in Annandale, one of the three agencies in northern Virginia working with the State Department to resettle Afghan refugees, a long hallway overflows with donation items. Several young families walk between cardboard boxes filled with toothpaste, deodorant, and feminine products.

Kelsey聽Bhandari, a case manager with Lutheran Social Services,聽says聽they鈥檝e fielded more than 2,000 volunteer requests since early August.

鈥淩ight now we鈥檝e been able to meet their material needs really well,鈥� says Ms. Bhandari. 鈥淪o being welcoming neighbors is the most important thing we need right now from the community.鈥�

鈥淲e are all working around the clock鈥�

Local resettlement professionals like Kristyn Peck, CEO of the Lutheran Social Services national capital branch, say the scale and timeline of current efforts is unlike anything they鈥檝e experienced. It wasn鈥檛 until the last week of July that Ms. Peck and her team were informed that President Joe Biden would begin mass evacuations on July 31.

鈥淚t was like, 鈥楾omorrow. Be ready.鈥� Usually we have more time,鈥� says Ms. Peck. 鈥淏ut there was no hesitation. We were like, 鈥楢bsolutely.鈥欌��

By the end of September, Ms. Peck鈥檚 organization is projected to have helped more than 1,000 Afghans with everything from housing, to job placement, to enrolling in English as a second language classes.

鈥淲e are all working around the clock,鈥� says Ms. Peck.聽

Although President Biden had long signaled U.S. intentions to withdraw from Afghanistan, the chaotic final phase聽has been criticized by Republicans and Democrats alike who fear it didn鈥檛 give the U.S. military ample time to evacuate all of its Afghan allies: locals who have worked alongside American troops for the past two decades. The allies who remain in the country are likely targets of the Taliban 鈥� especially those who still hold Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), which are given to Afghans employed by the United States.聽

More than have been airlifted out of Afghanistan since Aug. 14, but the Biden administration has not clarified what share of that figure is Afghans, nor has it said how many allies remain in Afghanistan. But estimates suggest allies may be left behind.

鈥淢y friends, they have passports and visas but they cannot fly to the U.S.,鈥� says Sayed, who recently arrived in Virginia with his wife and young son.聽

Sayed, whose real name has been withheld for safety reasons, learned his SIV was approved on July 10 and went into hiding 鈥� per the U.S. embassy鈥檚 instruction 鈥� until his flight left for Virginia鈥檚 Dulles Airport one week later. It wasn鈥檛 until he was waiting at his gate at the Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul with his wife and son that he could tell his extended family they were leaving Afghanistan forever.

Even now, safely on American soil in a Washington suburb with his wife and son playing beside him, Sayed still lives in fear. He鈥檚 afraid he put his family back home in danger because he helped the U.S., and he鈥檚 afraid that he won鈥檛 be able to make a life here in America for his wife and son. He and his wife owned their own small business in Afghanistan. Now they are struggling to find jobs. They can鈥檛 find a car they can afford, and he has to figure out how to enroll his son, who speaks little English, in school.聽

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 dream about this. I dreamed about a new Afghanistan that we worked on for 20 years,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut now it鈥檚 gone in the blink of an eye. Now I have to forget about Afghanistan. It is gone.鈥�

With the help of his case manager at Lutheran Social Services, he is making progress. He is at its Annandale office picking up a pile of donated goods such as a toaster, paper towels, lamps, and a teakettle. After living with a nearby relative since July, he and his family moved into their own apartment this week.聽

A tweet brings tide of help

After arriving at Dulles, Afghan refugees go to U.S. military bases for health exams and paperwork. They will then be connected with a such as Lutheran Social Services, which will help them with housing.

These organizations provide invaluable services, say advocates, but they can only do so much. New arrivals rely on good Samaritans like Mirriam Seddiq to fill in the gaps.聽

Ms. Seddiq, a criminal defense and immigration lawyer from northern Virginia, created an Amazon wish list last week with everything she thought someone starting over would need: towels, underwear, children鈥檚 clothing, and more. She tweeted out a link to her wish list page, which then got retweeted by larger accounts, and 24 hours later more than 80 Amazon boxes arrived at her door. The next day 170 boxes arrived. Then 260. She had started storing the donations in her garage, but soon had to move to two storage units.聽

In just a few days, Ms. Seddiq has collected $18,000 in donations and more than 1,000 boxes from Amazon.聽

鈥淲e are supposed to have words for our feelings, but I don鈥檛 think I do,鈥� says Ms. Seddiq, who came to the U.S. from Afghanistan as a toddler. 鈥淚鈥檓 horrified and devastated, but at the same time I鈥檓 positively floored by the kindness of these people.鈥�

After seeing the need 鈥� and gratitude 鈥� of refugees who have taken what they need from the storage units, Ms. Seddiq hopes to continue this work. She is completing paperwork to be recognized as a nonprofit organization called Komak, which means 鈥渉elp鈥� in Pashto. And Ms. Seddiq already has at least two dozen organizers 鈥� all of them the children of Afghan refugees.聽

鈥淭he Muslim community is ready to help these families,鈥� says Mr. Mehmood. 鈥淲e have families offering rooms, food, everything.鈥澛�

Mr. Mehmood interrupts himself to call a man named Abid, an Afghan refugee who arrived in July. The two men talk about the next steps in a job search: Abid was a skilled construction worker in Afghanistan, and Mr. Mehmood is helping him find work in America.聽

But before hanging up, Abid reminds Mr. Mehmood to tell him about any upcoming volunteer opportunities to help the newest refugees. Mr. Mehmood tells Abid he is about to drive to Dulles with 50 backpacks for the children who have just landed. Abid says he would love to come and help, but he doesn鈥檛 have a car.聽

鈥淒on鈥檛 worry,鈥� says Mr. Mehmood. 鈥淚鈥檒l pick you up.鈥�