Houston’s faith community prepares to receive Afghan refugees
Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston is preparing for an influx of refugees from Afghanistan.
Starting on Sept. 1, chief programs officer Ali Al Sudani estimates that between 1,500 and 2,500 individuals will arrive in the city over about nine months. And Interfaith already has the infrastructure in place to respond, Sudani said.
For the past 40 years, the nonprofit’s refugee-services division has offered comprehensive programs — from picking up individuals at the airport to securing housing, employment and opportunities for education.
This time around, however, the pace will be accelerated: Interfaith receives notice about 24 to 36 hours in advance for Afghan refugees.
“We would usually get this information about two weeks in advance, but because of the circumstances, we have a quick turnaround time,” Al Sudani said.
He has a number of concerns regarding the swift processing requirements, including hangups caused by COVID.
“Interfaith, on its own, cannot do it,” Al Sudani said.
He asked for the faith community’s help, as well as the support of other nonprofits and the business community.
On Aug. 25, Al Sudani convened with Houston’s faith leaders on Zoom — along with Interfaith president and CEO Martin B. Cominsky, vice president Jodi Bernstein, director of interfaith relations and education the Rev. Gregory Han and program director the Rev. Kim Mabry.
“Houston and the faith community have a history of responding in a crisis,” Al Sudani said. “We are blessed as a city to have a strong faith community that is connected, organized and willing to help.”
Rabbi Oren Hayon at Houston’s Congregation Emanu El, chair of refugee services at Interfaith Ministries, said faith leaders must find the most effective ways to help refugees as quickly as possible.
“They’re going to start arriving very soon,” he said. “It’s a call to action to welcome these folks and help them get settled.”
“It’s not unlike a natural disaster,” he added. “It’s not something you plan for, but when it happens, you marshal all of your resources to help people get out of danger.”
Hayon said that in the Jewish tradition, welcoming the stranger is key.
“Our Scripture tells us again and again to remember the stranger — and to remember our own experience of being displaced and homeless,” he said.
Stories of Afghan refugees’ current situations remind Al Sudani of his own flight from
Iraq before settling in Houston as a refugee in 2009.
“It’s a matter of making a decision in a second, what you need to take and what you will leave behind,” Al Sudani said. “Usually, you leave behind everything, just trying to save your life.”
“You can’t understand unless you live it,” he added.
Many refugees from Afghanistan are given a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), granted to Iraqi and Afghan citizens for their service to the U.S. government. The program will provide assistance with resettlement, Al Sudani said.
Others will come to the U.S. on humanitarian parole, a program allowing Afghans to enter the country without their official refugee status.
Al Sudani explained that parolees will not be eligible for food stamps, Medicare or monetary assistance until their status is amended.
Even for families that have an SIV or are approved for refugee status, there can be delays in receiving food or health care benefits because of the pandemic. A family could wait as long as a month to receive food stamps, and would need meals in the meantime.
“We are operating under COVID. Let’s not forget that,” he said.
Already, Interfaith has helped 50 Afghan SIV holders and expects 75 more in the next couple of weeks.
Al Sudani said that the State Department currently expects about 50,000 refugees in total to come to the U.S.
Some Afghans have already fled to neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Turkmenistan, he added.
Most of the families who come to Houston are young — between the ages of 25 and 36 — Al Sudani said. There are typically four members in each family, with at least one who speaks English.
“They are worried about the family members they left behind,” Al Sudani said. “But they are optimistic. They are optimistic that the faith community in Houston will be able to provide them support.”
Interfaith will seek the help of area churches, mosques, temples and synagogues to provide volunteers and make financial contributions.
The initial top priority will be to provide emergency assistance and housing for refugees when they arrive. Al Sudani estimates 150 apartments will be needed in September alone.
The faith community can also help with services in the future, volunteering with Interfaith’s women’s empowerment groups and teen mentorships, for example.
“A good welcoming word can make a huge impact,” he added.
Along with Interfaith’s national resettlement partners, the U.S. State Department and Episcopal Migration Ministries, the organization will work with other local faith leaders to coordinate efforts.
For Hayon, the refugee-services chair, this moment is a personal call to help.
“Just about every American Jew has a story about being in peril and needing to find a safe home,” he said. “And many of us have stories of gratitude or disappointment, when different nations would or would not open their doors for assistance.”
The needs of refugees now resonate — and require empathy and hospitality, he added.
Mabry, program manager at Interfaith, is reminded of Matthew 25:35.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,” she quoted.
“We can welcome these, our newest neighbors to our city,” she said.