More than 100 Connecticut residents may be stranded
HARTFORD — The U.S. military and refugee groups are working to extract more than 100 Connecticut residents who are among the thousands still trapped in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile as many as 1,000 refugees from Afghanistan could be resettled in Connecticut, said Chris George, executive director of Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services in New Haven
George said his agency is working directly with 65 Connecticut residents in Afghanistan as the military is trying to meet an Aug. 31 deadline to get Americans out of the country. George said the total number of Connecticut residents stranded in Afghanistan could be double this or even larger, based on his estimates.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who appeared at a news conference with George and Sen. Chris Murphy at the state Capitol Tuesday, agreed that the number could be as high as 200 people with ties to Connecticut. Both sena
“They’re terrified. … It really is bedlam over there. I’m really worried that we’re not going to be able to get everybody out.” — Chris George, executive director of Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services
tors said the effort to remove Americans and allies should continue as long as necessary — even if it takes longer than the Aug. 31 deadline set by President Biden.
Those with Connecticut ties have been in Afghanistan for a wide variety of reasons, including those attending weddings and family funerals who thought they could get out more quickly.
“They are Afghan Americans,’’ George said following a press conference at the state Capitol in Hartford. “Most are green-card holders because they haven’t been here for five years to be naturalized. Some are children who were born here and are U.S. citizens. I figure if IRIS knows of 65 people, then there must be at least as many — probably twice as many — throughout the rest of Connecticut.’’
The conditions for those fleeing Afghanistan is dire, he said, as the Taliban is closing in. The Taliban has already blocked some people from getting to Kabul International Airport — the final spot to exit the country in a desperate situation.
“It’s unimaginable,’’ George said. “You can hear that in the tone of voice and the tears that people have when they talk to us. People are literally going from one safe house to another, trying to stay one step ahead of the Taliban that is searching for them. They’re terrified. … It really is bedlam over there.
I’m really worried that we’re not going to be able to get everybody out.’’
George added, “They have received mixed messages sometimes from the American embassy — go to gate number 2 at a certain time. They go there, and there’s an incredible crush of humanity. They have to turn around and go back for fear that their children will be trampled to death.’’
Both from the Pentagon
and in Connecticut, many of the numbers are estimates, and some officials have said flatly that they do not know the number of Americans in harm’s way.
“Our Constitution protects the freedom to travel,’’ George said. “People travel without getting permission from the government. There isn’t a record of everyone who is in Afghanistan.’’
As a member of the Senate
Armed Services Committee, Blumenthal said he will be participating in hearings on what went wrong with the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan.
“There are thousands more American citizens, including potentially hundreds of residents of Connecticut, who are still there,’’ Blumenthal said. “There are tens of thousands of Afghan allies. These numbers have a human face
and voice.’’
Murphy, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee that oversees Afghanistan, said he expects to oversee “exhaustive hearings’’ that will look not only at the evacuation that critics say was botched but also a full, retrospective analysis of the 20-year war waged by the United States since troops ousted the Taliban after the September 11, 2001 attacks on American soil.
Murphy said he is concerned “how we spent $1 trillion in Afghanistan’’ during the course of two decades.
“There needs to be an accounting of how we got to this moment,’’ Murphy said. “It is a failure of American policy of epic scale, and the American people deserve to have a full accounting for it.’’
While the American military and others are working to get citizens out of Afghanistan, officials are already preparing for refugees to arrive in the Nutmeg State.
“Connecticut could welcome 1,000 or more refugees,’’ George said. “We did that in 2016 when Syrians came,’’ George said. “This is a wealthy state. It is a generous state. There is a long history of philanthropy and welcoming refugees, and the people of Connecticut realize the value of welcoming refugees. They do it for humanitarian reasons, but they also know there is sort of a bonus. They make us stronger. They make us a better place to live.’’
George’s organization in New Haven will be working with the refugees, as will Bridgeport-based Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants, known as CIRI.
“We will resettle as many refugees as the government brings to the state,’’ George said, “and I can say that with confidence because I know we have the support of the people of Connecticut.’’