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SAYED AND KAREEM — Katie Strick of the Evening Standard spoke with an Afghan family who resettled in Britain but is struggling to get the support they need. "We were promised pocket money, kids’ activities, identity cards and information on what happens next," said Sayed Hashemi, a lawyer and former CEO for the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment who arrived in the U.K. with his family three weeks ago. "Without ID or a credit card, we can’t apply for jobs, drive or open a bank account … We may be safe from the Taliban, but without more support from the government, I don’t know what we’re going to do." Meanwhile, Catholic News Agency’s Shannon Mullen tells the story of Kareem, an Afghan Christian who worked with the U.S. government but did not meet the one year of service time required to be eligible for an SIV. "Please help me," he wrote to CNA via WhatsApp. "I have no one without you. You are my last hope." REMEMBERANCE — In the wake of the chaos and devastation of Sept. 11 in New York, immigrant cleanup workers were an indispensable part of the city’s recovery. But language barriers and immigration status left many of these workers, who often face significant health complications, with limited access to relief programs or reluctant to seek care, Claudia Torrens writes for the Associated Press. While Sept. 11 responders and cleanup workers "have long asked to obtain legal immigration status in the U.S. as a way to compensate" for their work, nearly 20 years later they still have no fast track to legal status. "We were all immigrants who contributed to the U.S. We worked hard there, paid taxes, grew old there," said Luis Soriano, an Ecuadorian-born cleanup worker. "We should all be remembered for what we did." For more reflections on how 9/11 impacted immigration, see César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández’s Washington Post feature and Meena Venkataraman’s deep dive in The Los Angeles Times.
CHANGING COMMUNITIES — There’s been an interesting smatter of local news stories on the country’s changing demographics. In Erie County, Pennsylvania, an increase in immigrants and refugees offset a slide in population, Matthew Rink writes for the Erie Times-News. MAKING A DIFFERENCE — There are ways for us to help unaccompanied children in our communities and even in our own homes, writes Maria Quintero, board chair of Bethany Christian Services in Florida, in an op-ed for The Orlando Sentinel. She and her family "made 100 travel pouches with various items we could donate and I quickly realized that every person has the power to make a lasting impact on a child waiting to be reunited with their family. … Every action, no matter how small, helps care for these children and makes a tremendous difference in their lives." Thanks for reading, |
