• Pittsburgh groups trying to arrange homes for Afghan refugees,
Pittsburgh groups trying to set up homes for Afghan refugees who fled chaos of Taliban takeover
Caley Donovan was trying to get away with using just one shopping cart, piled high with supplies, as she shopped for an Afghan family recently resettled in the Pittsburgh area.
A laundry basket, toilet paper, a trash can and plug protectors were among some of the essentials the refugee caseworker was picking up for the man, woman and 2-year-old girl who arrived in Pittsburgh just before Kabul, Afghanistan’s capitol, fell to the Taliban more than a week ago.
Ms. Donovan and her colleagues at Jewish Family Community Services are helping resettle refugees in the region. So far, little is known about who is being relocated here. Ms. Donovan could not share the family’s identity out of concern for relatives in Afghanistan. She said the family is relieved to finally arrive but worried for those back home.
Normally, people assisted by JFCS might be able to take up to two bags with them as they leave their countries. But Ms. Donovan said many Afghans are being told only to bring one backpack to cut down on space and time spent in security.
A few important items — such as a tea kettle — help make refugee families more comfortable in their new surroundings. “Having a space of their own and the items that make it feel like home for you, that goes a long way,” she said.
The organization worked with a housing company to find the family, who already have relatives in Pittsburgh, a place to live near other Afghans and close to public transit. Now, they are getting them set up with bank accounts and getting them settled into their neighborhood.
“Sometimes, they have appointments with us, whether it’s doctors appointments, meetings with our employment programs or meetings with me,” Ms. Donovan said. “And then sometimes, they’re just here, sort of getting settled in, walking around their neighborhood, maybe having a meal with their family.”
Any help the organization provides is one less worry for the families, she said.
“For any Afghan family coming right now, it is stressful to come and settle, but there’s also just the extra stress that comes from them knowing what’s going on at home,” Ms. Donovan said.
The Taliban’s rapid rise to power, along with chaos at Kabul’s international airport and two explosions Thursday that killed dozens outside the travel hub, have caused added anxiety in the country just days before the announced date of the American military’s withdrawal on Aug. 31.
The approaching date has caused an
“enormous sense of panic,” said Jennifer Murtazashvili, director and founder of the Center for Governance and Markets at the University of Pittsburgh. She and a group of dozens of volunteers have been helping connect Afghans to former U.S.-based employers who can help fill out the paperwork to get them out of the country.
“I feel like people are suffocating,” she said.
The group has been inundated with requests in the days since the Taliban took Kabul. In addition to the chaos has been confusion about the process to get Afghans out through P-2 visas, Ms. Murtazashvili said, which extends to Afghans who supported some of the U.S. efforts in Afghanistan.
“There is such confusion about what the rules are, and the state department has set up such a confusing system,” she said. “I don’t care about what you feel about the withdrawal or anything — this is inexcusable. We can’t keep the rules straight.”
Many Afghans who have chosen to stay are terrified, said Ms. Murtazashvili, who has written extensively about Afghanistan and has 20 years of experience in the region.
“There’s a lot of panic right now,” she said. “The Taliban hasn’t said how they’re going to govern. They said they aren’t going to hurt people for retribution, but obviously, there’s a credibility problem.”
Max DeGregorio, an undergraduate business student at Pitt, has been coordinating the volunteer group’s effort, and he estimates 1,500 individual cases from Afghanistan have reached out to them.
“It’s just a big, very organic outpouring, … and we’re just trying to do our best to piece everything together as it’s happening,” he said.
Their primary objective has been to contact Afghans’ employers — a tricky task, as some of the companies, despite having U.S. connections, are no longer operational — and a representative from the U.S. Department of State who can take the application and process it.
But Mr. DeGregorio said they still wish they could do more. If a connection is made, the group doesn’t hear back from many of the Afghans as they attempt to make their way out of the country. Mr. DeGregorio said they plan to develop a system to follow up with them in the coming weeks.
“It breaks my heart that we’re powerless to evacuate people,” he said. “At the end of the day, they need to get out of the country. All we can do is package the application and send them on their way.”