Welcome Afghan Family to their New Home

When Kabul fell to the Taliban, imagine a father running for the transport plane tightly gripping his five-month old baby in one arm, clutching his 4-year-old son with his other hand and his wife tightly gripping the hand of the 4- year old – literally running for their lives! 11 days ago they got on the military transport plane with the clothes on their backs – and they are still wearing these same clothes yet grateful to be in America.

Jaweed is the father of one of the families I came across while volunteering at Dulles Airport with an immigration attorney. He is a US Citizen -and got his citizenship through the SIV program after serving as an interpreter for the US military for many years. He petitioned his wife, who has her green card. They have two sons. One son was born in the US and is a US citizen. Their other son, however, was born in Afghanistan and was waiting for his interview so he could get his green card and the family could finally relocate to the United States. Because this four-year old child did not have a visa or a green card, the whole family was stuck in Afghanistan. As a result, and even though the father is a US Citizen, they do not have extensive ties to the US—they have been living and working in Afghanistan for years waiting for their son’s interview!

When they arrived in Virginia, they had nothing but the clothes on their backs! This case is unique because the US Government told them that they would only provide refugee resettlement services for the 4-year-old son only, not the parents (since the parents have legal status and aren’t technically refugees). They even went so far as to suggest that the four-year old son would have to be transferred to Fort Bliss in Texas but that his parents would have to stay here in Virginia. Fearful of never seeing their child again, this family declined the offer to send their child to Texas alone. They are now living in the basement of a kind soul while Jaweed looks for a job. The father also told me that this was especially hard for him because he used to be the one accepting refugees and strangers into his home in Kabul. Now he was the one needing help from others. It struck me as so poignant, the idea that any of us could be fine one day, but a stranger in a strange land the next. They have run out of the few resources they had and need more kindness from strangers to begin their new life in their new home country.

After spending five minutes with this family, it was clear to me that they will not need help from others for very long, but a little help now for a few months to get them in a stable and safe living situation will be a tremendous investment in their future. The father is already job hunting and the mother is working hard to improve her English language skills as she just signed up for ESL classes. Many neighbors have offered furniture and housewares once they have a place to live!

Please help me raise $15,000 so Jaweed can rent an apartment for his family, pay the security deposit, buy a used car and have 4 months of rent to get on solid ground to begin their new life in America. Please be generous with your donation. More importantly, please share this post with your network and encourage them to be generous.

With gratitude,

Barbara Ferris