My friend escaped Afghanistan & needs support

    I’m Mike Hostetler, an Air Force veteran, and I'm trying to help my friend (an Afghan Soldier) and his family, as they escape the Taliban and begin to make a new life here in the United States. 
 
I must leave out details of my friend's name, our service together, and even blur their faces, for the continued caution/safety of his wife, daughters, and grandson who remain hiding in Kabul. 

       
     In 2008, I deployed to Afghanistan, leading construction crews in support of the surge of US troops arriving from Iraq. While deployed, I worked with several foreign services, including the Afghan Nation Army (ANA). Working for several months at a Forward Operating Base (FOB), I developed a close relationship with an Afghan Command Sergeant Major (CSM) who provided security for my team. He aided in equipment, supplies, and labor to ensure my team was successful and protected. Before the end of my deployment in Afghanistan, one of the last projects I worked on was to convert a burnt-out shipping container into a store that would grow to support U.S. service members with essential goods to include soap, toiletries, snacks, and other comforts while deployed. After I returned to the States, I continued to keep in touch with my friend, as he grew his business and continued to run security operations at the FOB.

   
     Amidst the chaos of the evacuations in August, my friend, the Afghan CSM, made it out of Afghanistan on one of the last few flights out of Kabul Airport. There is no doubt, that as a senior member of the ANA, his family and his own life were in extreme danger, as the Taliban regained control of the country. He grabbed his son-in-law and seized the slightest sliver of opportunity to wrestle his way through the gates of the airport. It was his hope and expectation that once he was securely at the airport, that it would be a matter of processing paperwork to bring the rest of his family. Of course, we know now, that the airport was overwhelmed with panicked evacuees and unfortunately, he made the unbearable decision to leave his mother, mother-in-law, wife, three daughters (one of whom is pregnant), and 2yr old grandson behind.

     
     As news trickled about the Taliban takeover city-by-city, I had been in constant communication with my friend. At the height of the evacuations, communications went silent for nearly two weeks, before I heard from him again and learned that he had made it to a military base-turned-refugee camp near Washington DC. He and his son-in-law would spend the next two months at this refugee camp, awaiting resettlement in the United States. I contacted my local refugee resettlement agency here in Ohio, which helped expedite his paperwork. This enabled him and his son-in-law to leave the base and secure a flight to Ohio, with hopes of starting a new life here.

   My wife Krissy (also an Air Force veteran), our two boys (Kai and Dax) and I welcomed my old friend and his son-in-law into our Ohio home on October 29th. For the past two weeks, we have spent our time and resources attempting to navigate the refugee process. We are thankful and fortunate to be able to offer a safe space for him and his son-in-law to rest and begin researching opportunities to safely evacuate the rest of his family from Kabul to Ohio. 
 
     We continue working with the resettlement agency for their immediate needs, but this process is very complicated, confusing, and slow.  The agency itself is grossly understaffed and underfunded due to federal budget cuts over the past 8 years. And they are now facing a rush of cases, creating even more backlogs in the system.  
 
    As we are unpacking next steps, there are essentially two parallel tracks we are navigating: Helping them begin an independent life here in America through stable work and then also figuring out how to bring the rest of his family to the US. This latter track feels particularly challenging.   

 

     As far as establishing an independent life, what we have discovered so far is that there are different classifications of refugees with varying level of benefits depending on the classification. At the end of September, a bill was passed to essentially grant the same level of benefits for all Afghan refugees regardless of refugee classification. This allows our friends access to SNAP (food stamps $225/month) and Medicaid. Additionally, they are authorized to work (apparently that is not always the case for asylum seeking refugees!). Finally, they have submitted applications to receive Social Security Numbers. This will be the key to allow them to drive and apply for work here in the US. Without this, they are not eligible for employment. Unfortunately, the Social Security Administration is dealing with their own backlog, and so it could take weeks before they receive their SSNs. And there is no number or website to access to check on this progress.   

 
In the meantime, asylum seeking refugees receive a one-time stipend (per person) upon their arrival.  This is funded at the state level and intended to cover food and housing costs for the first 90 days, while their paperwork (described above) processes.  For our region, this stipend is $1,150.  
 
As you can see, while possible, this is a tight budget to get anyone started and especially to cover 90 days. Krissy and I knew this would be difficult, especially for people who don't understand our American language, norms, and culture. Our intention is to provide as much support as we can, while we wait for their work papers, and allow them to begin building some savings.  
  
We are raising funds to get this Afghan family, fellow veteran/now refugee, on his/their feet with basic necessities so they can focus on making a life in America. All funds raised would go towards their most immediate needs, to include: 
 
-  Reliable used car - as public transportation doesn't cover our area (approx. $3,000 - $5,000) 
-  Stable housing until their SSN is received, (average rent in the area is $1,300/m, and no employer will hire them without a SSN) 
-  Cover debts and fees from the resettlement, such as legal, plane flight, filing fees 
 
The other half of this resettlement process is figuring out how to reunite him and his son-in-law with their family. With his family being mostly women and girls, they are immediate targets of suspicion if they are out of their home without a man; and so they remain in hiding in Kabul.  Time does not seem to be on our side and my friend has shared disturbing footage showcasing the brutality of the Taliban toward men and women as they search for former members of the ANA.  And our friend is not able to “sponsor” them as he, himself, is not legally recognized as being a resident of the US, yet. With our current immigration laws, it could take years for our friend to be legally recognized in the US and then more time to go through the bureaucratic processes to apply for sponsorship. Through the resettlement agency here, we have access to legal immigration services to help navigate all of this, but again… these services are provided pro-bono and as the attorneys have time, which is to say, these services are not the most thorough or consistent.  
 
Creating this GoFundMe was one thought to have direct impact on getting them on their feet.  
 
If you can help in other ways, through legal services, job opportunities, housing availability, or have other ideas, please share! You can contact Krissy or myself directly. 
 
My friend made the impossible choice to leave his family in imminent danger because he believes America is worth it. And we do too.  
 
  
Thank you everyone! 
  
Mike H.