We are just getting started, learn more about the new initiatives to help our new Afghan neighbors

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** August 2022 Newsletter
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FOR OVER 110 YEARS, ADVANCING THE RIGHTS AND LIVES OF REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANTS
WE ARE JUST GETTING STARTED,
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR NEW INITIATIVES
USCRI Cleveland's Case Aide Mohammad Sabir Safi during a cultural orientation for Afghan refugees

As we look back on the last year resettling our Afghan allies, we can’t help but think about the tremendous generosity of our donors, the inspiring work done by our staff, and the amazing resilience of our new neighbors.
The path has not been easy. From the chaotic images of the evacuation to the long resettlement process that saw Afghans in Qatar, the so-called “lily pads,” the military bases, temporary housing, and finally their new permanent homes, the road has been challenging, but rewarding.

This experience has given us the opportunity to think about new programs and initiatives to better serve our clients, expand our horizons, and overcome the obstacles posed by the current immigration system.

We found within our organization the strength to build an entire health services program for Afghans staying on the military bases in record time. We forged new partnerships and even expanded our Legal Services department to assist more clients in more cities.

USCRI found in our donors, staff, and clients the courage to keep working even during the most pressing circumstances.

Now, one year later, we are grateful for the lessons, the support, and the new relationships we have built. Thank you for being part of this gratifying experience and for allowing us to continue advancing the rights and lives of refugees and immigrants.

Sincerely,

Kevin Sturtevant, CFRE
VP of Strategic Development
USCRI
SEATTLE TIMES OP-ED FROM USCRI
CEO AND PRESIDENT ESKINDER NEGASH
The U.S. must provide Afghan refugees with the means to stay in their new country

By Eskinder Negash

One year ago, 22-year-old Ramzia Nasiri was at the Kabul airport for seven days, hoping to get a spot on one of the planes helping Afghan allies evacuate following the sudden fall of Kabul. She was alone, with no family, water or food.

At the airport, 38-year-old Mirwais Muqbil also waited anxiously to leave his homeland. He had been a refugee in the 1990s and was once again being displaced by political instability and conflict.

Nasiri and Muqbil are just two of the more than 70,000 Afghans who fled Afghanistan since August 2021. They are part of the group of men, women and children who not only left behind the hopes for a better Afghanistan after a 20-year war, but also relatives and in many cases daughters, sons and parents.

Now, as their country is in limbo, their status in the United States and the possibility of staying beyond the two years that many got as parolees is uncertain. While the Biden administration designated Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in March, this only offers a short-term solution, as it does not provide a pathway to lawful permanent residency.

To read more, please click here ([link removed]) .
THE DAY HAMEED RUSHED TO THE KABUL AIRPORT
The day Hameed rushed to the Kabul airport, the day his new life in the U.S. was about to start

On August 25, 2021, as the incandescent sun burned fiercely over Kabul and the Taliban were setting roadblocks across the Afghan capital, Hameed grabbed his passport, packed some snacks, jeans and shirts, and a pair of shoes, and left his house. It was about 1:00 pm. He had just spoken to one of his cousins at the airport, who advised him to rush there. He said goodbye to his mother, father, and siblings, not knowing if he would ever see them again, or if he would even make it to the airport.

“There was chaos, you know, everyone was leaving,” he says as he recalls this day.

While the trip from Hameed’s house to the airport usually takes one hour, he did not make it there until 7:00 pm. But the relief from reaching the airport quickly vanished as he tried to contact his cousin. The signals were jammed, and the calls and texts were not going through. The signals were intentionally blocked to prevent terrorist attacks to no avail, unfortunately.

“I was standing at the location that was given to me, [and] a suicide bomber came and exploded himself,” Hameed says.

According to media reports, at least 92 people, including 13 U.S. service members, were killed that day.

To read more about Hameed's story and his arrival in the U.S., please visit our website ([link removed]) .
UPDATES ON OUR
TRANSFORMING AFGHAN LIVES PROGRAM
USCRI is excited to share more details about the new initiatives to assist our new Afghan neighbors through the Transforming Afghan Lives (TAL) program, which was made possible thanks to a generous donation. Our efforts are focused on three main areas: legal services to Afghan parolees within the U.S., services aimed at Afghan women and children, and provision of technology and online access for Afghan parolees resettled by USCRI and its affiliate agencies.

We will tell you more about our technology initiative in the future, but for now we want to share the exciting progress in our other two priority areas. USCRI’s Legal Services department has now fully opened and staffed six new legal offices located in Atlanta, GA, Austin and Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Detroit, MI, and Richmond, VA. Attorneys and legal support staff at these offices have begun providing pro bono legal services to the Afghan parolees that have been resettled by USCRI and its affiliates this month.

Our network is also piloting new and expanding current programs centered around the specific needs of the Afghan women and the children they serve in Cleveland, OH, Erie, PA, Colchester, VT, and Detroit, MI. Thanks to TAL, the women who participate in these initiatives are regaining functionality in their everyday lives, overcoming barriers such as transportation by learning how to navigate public systems or obtaining their driving licenses, finding additional sources of income, improving their English proficiency, and acquiring professional certificates in areas such as nursing.
THEY LEFT KABUL TWO DAYS APART; HE FOUND HIS FATHER SEMICONSCIOUS IN TEXAS
Toryali had been working for the U.S. government for almost four years when the panic started to take over Kabul as the Taliban were approaching. He was at the airport and was able to leave the country on August 15, 2021, the same day the Taliban took over the government. He says he was one of the first ones to arrive in Qatar to help set up the location for the other Afghans who were going to be evacuated in record time.

Toryali, or Tory as his friends and colleagues call him, left behind his parents and siblings when he boarded the plane at the Kabul airport. At 24, his life took a radical change.

From Qatar, he was sent to the U.S. and like thousands of other Afghans, arrived in Dulles before being sent to a military base. In his case, a base located in Texas.

Given the need for interpreters, Tory’s language skills came in handy as doctors working with emergency cases needed to communicate with Afghans who were unwell. Tory speaks Pashto, Persian, Urdu, as well as English and he’s trying to learn Hindu by watching movies.

Some days after arriving, a U.S. soldier approached him. He took Tory to see one of the patients because he thought it was interesting that they had the same last name. So, he took Tory to the emergency side set up at the base. It was Tory’s father, who was semiconscious as a result of high blood pressure problems.

To read more about Tory's story, please visit our website ([link removed]) .
INTERESTED IN DONATING? LEARN HOW!
We continue to be amazed by the generosity of our donors. Their support has made our resettlement work possible and has allowed our new Afghan neighbors to begin their lives in the U.S. However, our work is far from done and we continue to support them by ensuring they have the tools and resources to achieve self-sufficiency and thrive in the long term.

If you would like to contribute, please use the button below.

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USCRI, founded in 1911, is a non-governmental, not-for-profit international organization committed to working on behalf of refugees and immigrants and their transition to a dignified life.

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Copyright ©2022 U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. All rights reserved.

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