[Epoch Times September 02, 2021](Epoch Times reporter Xiao Jie, Lin Mei Philadelphia interview report) Last Saturday (August 28), the first batch of evacuated Afghan refugees arrived at Philadelphia International Airport, once again arousing local people’s concern about Afghanistan s concern.
Mohammad Sadeed (Mohammad Sadeed) is an Afghan who immigrated to the United States in 2019. He is currently the office director of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS PA) in Philadelphia. Sadid’s originally peaceful life was broken after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 14. He worries every day for his wife and five young children trapped in Afghanistan for visiting relatives, and feels the fear of life and death.
“I am very worried about my children and my wife. I couldn’t even fall asleep for a whole week.” Last Friday (August 27), Sadid just breathed a sigh of relief when he was interviewed by The Epoch Times; his wife and children Just arrived in Germany. They were lucky enough to board an evacuation plane to Germany before the suicide bombing at Kabul Airport in Afghanistan last Thursday. Sadid does not know when his family will arrive in the United States. His five children, the oldest is 13 years old, and the youngest is 4 and a half years old.
Sadid said that he prayed for the safety of his family all the time. Although there were kidnappings or suicide bombings in Afghanistan in the past, they did not witness them. “I believe this is the first time someone has been shot and killed in front of them. I can’t imagine how they can handle this problem alone when I’m not there. So this is a very difficult situation, and it has been until now. Waiting for them It’s really hard to come back.”
Sadid said that in the most recent call with his family, everyone there was only one minute of talking time. Because there was no internet, people were waiting in line to call and tell their family members: “We are safe. We are in Germany. We don’t know how Where will one stop.”
Sadid is thankful that his family has now left Afghanistan safely. He is now doing his best to help the Afghan refugees coming to Philadelphia. Sadida’s family has accepted a family of refugees from Afghanistan, and he has also registered as a volunteer to pick people up at the airport.
In the early morning of August 28, Philadelphia International Airport welcomed the first batch of Afghan refugees. This is the second airport designated by the White House to receive Afghan refugees in the United States. The Philadelphia city government said it would ensure that hundreds of evacuees were provided with “safe shelters.” The airport has set up small medical clinics, Covid virus testing and vaccination points for the arrival of refugees, as well as food, supplies, and toys for children.
Sadid said: “The first plane may arrive at around 1:00 in the morning. It is very difficult for someone who hasn’t slept for a week, but I never think I’m tired, I never think I can’t help. They…I told my friends that if I were not there to take care of my family, at least another Afghan colleague would take care of them because they could not speak English. So this is when I have to help Afghans….this It’s when we need to help each other.”
Sadid used to be the head of the office of the US consulate in Afghanistan, and immigrated to the United States two years ago for the education of his children. “But now most people are afraid of another civil war. They don’t know what will happen in the future?” “The only thing we want to do is live in peace.”
Sadid believes that it is not safe to live in Afghanistan now. Many people went to the airport to flee Afghanistan. “But the next moment, either the son was shot or the daughter’s arm was broken.” Sadid said: “I am calling for humanitarian rights, and I am calling for the United Nations.” “Why don’t they speak? Why are they so Quiet? Why don’t they scream for these innocent people?”
Sadid hopes that agencies involved in the evacuation of Afghan refugees will provide a clear procedure during the process of applying for Special Immigrant Visa Status (SIV): including who can be evacuated, when, where and how, etc., to reduce cumbersome procedures. SIV is a special status visa created by the U.S. government for those Afghans who help the U.S. military.
Sadid said: “I feel very, very sad for the innocent people who lost their lives. At the same time, I am very happy to wait for my family and reunite with them.”
Philadelphia Refugee Resettlement Agency reaches out
HIAS PA has helped settle approximately 26 Afghan refugees in Philadelphia in the past few weeks. HIAS PA executive director Cathryn Miller-Wilson (Cathryn Miller-Wilson) said that the biggest challenge now is to find housing for refugees: “Due to the crisis, we only get notice a few hours before the plane arrives at the airport. This is obviously not enough. Time comes to find housing. Therefore, the primary challenge is how to find temporary housing as soon as possible, and then we can find permanent housing. Airbnb has really helped a lot by providing a lot of temporary housing for free.”
With the help of donors, Airbnb will provide free housing for 20,000 Afghan refugees worldwide.
Miller Wilson said they are also asking the Philadelphia hotel industry to provide discounted hotel rooms. Due to the epidemic, apartment prices have skyrocketed, so HAIS PA is meeting with landlords to discuss reducing refugee rents. “” But I’m not sure how successful it will be. There are also questions about the future of refugee families and whether they can find jobs with a high enough income to afford housing. “”
Refugee resettlement is a 90-day program created by the federal government. Miller Wilson introduced: “For every refugee we welcome, including the Afghans we expect to welcome, we must meet them at the airport, provide them with affordable housing, provide medical assistance, and enable them to obtain a social insurance number. Enroll their children in school. We provide cultural guidance and courses in English as a second language. We explain to them how to get a job so that they can be self-sufficient. So we help them open bank accounts and provide them with finance Knowledge class.” After 90 days, about 80% of people can be independent and have found a job. The remaining about 20% need more additional services, “We transfer them to other programs in our organization, and try to help them get more services, whether it is because they have serious health problems or severe trauma, or They just need more employment assistance.”
Miller-Wilson called on the U.S. Congress to allow the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to waive the application fee for Humanitarian Parole (Humanitarian Parole). Humanitarian parole is a permit granted by the U.S. government to leave Afghanistan for Afghans with relatives in the U.S. a few weeks ago. The application fee per person is more than US$500, but usually the Afghan family has a large population and it is difficult to pay the application fee.
The Afghan community in Philadelphia is medium-sized, with about 700 people. California and Texas have larger Afghan communities. Miller Wilson welcomes readers to go online to learn about the latest developments and provide possible help: www.HIASpa.org.
Editor in charge: Wang Yan
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