When U.S. service members were in a foreign land, unsure of
the way and unable to speak the language, brave locals came to their
assistance. Now, the Afghans who served as interpreters and guides for the U.S.
military need help adjusting to a new country.
For decades, the U.S. military has been in Afghanistan and
is now in the process of withdrawing troops. The Taliban, an extremist Islamic
movement that ruled Afghanistan until ousted by a U.S.-led coalition, is taking
advantage of the withdrawal to gain control in the region, making it especially
dangerous for those who assisted U.S. forces.
Operation Allies Refuge, which began July 30, brought
planeloads of Afghans to Dulles International Airport, then to Fort Lee, near
Petersburg, Va. The families were pre-vetted and able to complete the
immigration process safely stateside.
Federal, military and nongovernmental agencies all have come
together on this project, said Jessica Estrada, director of newcomer services
for diocesan Catholic Charities. “In some circumstances, we wouldn’t all be
working together this well, but because this was such a unique situation,
everybody’s top priority was the individuals arriving,” she said. “It was quite
amazing to see.”
Six diocesan Catholic Charities staffers have been working
with the new arrivals at Fort Lee, including Hekmatullah Latifi, who came to
the United States with his wife and children on a special immigrant visa in
2016. In Afghanistan, Latifi worked for the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Agency for
International Development. When he felt his family was being threatened, he
decided to bring them to the United States.
Since 2008, the U.S. has welcomed 70,000 Afghans who
assisted Americans overseas through the Special Immigrant Visa program,
according to the U.S. State Department. Usually the application process is
completed in Afghanistan. But because of the country’s current volatile
situation, immigrants needed to leave the country quickly.
“I had to wait two years in a normal situation in
Afghanistan to get processed,” said Latifi. “But (at Fort Lee), the whole chain
of people who are involved in this process were on the same floor, in the same
building sitting in each room. It’s a very expedited system. In my life I
haven’t seen such a great welcoming event for refugees (of) such a large
scope.”
Life has been extremely difficult in Afghanistan for those
who worked for the United States, said Latifi. “It’s a (horrible) situation for
everyone right now,” he said. “For those directly involved in the U.S. mission
in Afghanistan, some people told me they locked themselves down in their homes,
they were not going outside, they were not letting their kids go outside
because they thought they might be targeted.”
A Catholic Charities employee organizes Olympics-themed activities to keep the children of recent Afghan immigrants entertained while their parents go through the immigration process. COURTESY
Latifi said he felt proud to help the newcomers. “Those
families were picked up from the middle of a fire and brought to safety. It’s
so emotional, so touching,” he said. “Every single family was thankful for the
services they received, for the warm welcoming they received. A lot of families
said to us, ‘We don’t feel like we’re on a military base, we feel like we have
reached our homes.’ ”
Some of the incoming families will settle within the
Arlington diocese and many have connections with friends or family in the area,
said Estrada. For up to five years after their arrival, Catholic Charities will
help them enroll their children in school, get health care, and find employment
and a place to live.
Stephen Carattini, president and CEO of diocesan Catholic
Charities, said he’s grateful his team was able to pitch in. “The ministry of
Catholic Charities is to serve the poor, protect the vulnerable and welcome the
newcomer. That comes to us from Scripture and Catholic social teaching. That is
what we strive to do every day,” he said. “People come with nothing and are
starting over. These are folks who helped our government in good faith and now
we have an opportunity to return that favor.”
