Afghan Response
We continue to advocate for those who have been
left behind, but we also turn our attention to welcome Afghan
evacuees who will be relocated soon to our cities.
What we know...
Up to 400 Afghans will arrive in Worcester, MA.
Up to the same number will arrive to the western part of MA, oriented around Springfield.
Right now, they are living temporarily in tents on US military bases awaiting relocation. The US government expects to place up to 75,000 Afghans into communities around the country between now and March 2022.
While at the bases, they will receive medical screening, apply for work permits, and start the paperwork to establish their immigration status. The makeshift dwellings are no doubt better than the streets outside the Kabul airport but the goal is to move them out as soon as possible so they can start rebuilding their lives.
They bravely fled their country to escape the Taliban, while they had the chance. They have been traumatized, persecuted, and pushed to the brink. They have endured tremendous loss - family members, homes, jobs, savings, and all that was familiar. They will come as families, single people, and unaccompanied minors from all age brackets.
Almost all will be Muslim, mostly from persecuted sects, and some will be Christian converts. Most will come as humanitarian parolees, but others will come with Special Immigrant Visas because they worked with or on behalf of the US in Afghanistan. Others will be reunited with their family.
Regardless of their story, we are
here to welcome them.
