Mother, son witness Kabul casualties
State family among hundreds seeking way out of Afghanistan
NEW HAVEN — Thursday’s explosions and dozens of deaths near the Kabul airport have increased the fear and confusion among Connecticut residents, many of them former refugees, who are trying to evacuate Afghanistan, according to a staff member for Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services.
Ann O’Brien, director of community engagement for IRIS, said a staff member spoke to “a mother and son who were near the bombing and saw casualties.”
“They have made it to
safety but, just as we anticipated, they are trying to decide whether or not it is safe to try to cross a border or go to the airport,” O’Brien said.
A U.S. general said Thursday that 13 U.S. service members were killed in the Kabul attacks, which he said were carried out by “ISIS fighters.” Officials said a number of U.S. military troops were wounded, and warned, however, that the numbers may grow. At least 60 Afghans were killed, another 18 service members were wounded and more than 140 Afghans were wounded, Afghan and U.S. officials said.
O’Brien did not name the Connecticut family or reveal where they live in or which country they were considering crossing into, for their safety. They contacted IRIS to seek help in making their decision, given the chaos at the airport, she said.
While there are still many Connecticut residents whom IRIS is trying to help leave Afghanistan, other than the mother and son, “we are not aware of any of our clients being directly impacted by the explosions,” O’Brien said earlier Thursday. “We would anticipate that it would create ... more fear in folks that are trying to reach the airport.”
She said the blasts confirm Afghans’ fears that they are living “in an active war zone,” increasing their urgency in trying to leave the country before “the situation devolves further.”
The former Afghan refugees IRIS is trying to help evacuate are legal permanent U.S. residents on a path toward citizenship, many of whom were resettled more than five years ago, O’Brien said. They had gone to Afghanistan for family visits, weddings and funerals, not realizing how swiftly the Taliban would take over.
She called it “a clear window into understanding just how much even those on the inside have been taken completely by surprise by these events.”
So far, five families comprising 32 people have arrived in Connecticut with the aid of IRIS, O’Brien said.
Gov. Ned Lamont Thursday termed the attack near the Kabul airport “a tragedy.”
But he said he has not had “any asks” from the White House about refugees nor any updates on Connecticut residents stuck in Afghanistan.
“There has been no outreach to Connecticut yet about in terms of how we can help support those refugees,” Lamont said. “Generally I’ll be there listening and being responsive.”
He said that “providing the vetting is serious, we’ll be supportive.”
A number of refugee organizations are seeking support and “we are getting more and more people out every day,” Lamont said.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Thursday that he was “heartbroken” over the “horrific and unspeakable acts of terror” in Kabul Thursday that took the lives of military personnel and it points to the dangers faced by Americans and allies who remain there.
Blumenthal said he believes the U.S. military presence should remain in Afghanistan until American and allies are evacuated.
“I believe that there will be a time to pay back these act of horror” but the U.S. should focus now on evacuation, he said. “We should not allow these terrorists ... to dictate the timetable for our troop withdrawal.”
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, said, “I am horrified by today’s heinous attack outside the Kabul airport and condemn these cowardly acts of terror. My heart breaks over the innocent lives taken today, and I mourn the loss of our brave United States military members who were killed in service of this critical mission. I pray for their families as they receive news of the loss of their loved ones and share in every American’s gratitude for their ultimate sacrifice.
“I applaud President Biden for his commitment and determination: this mission is not over. Through today’s devastation, we must remain committed to safely evacuating all American service members and citizens, Afghan allies, and the vulnerable populations that will be targeted by the Taliban.
For refugees who get into the Kabul airport and onto a plane to the United States, resettlement agencies here have 24 hours’ notice of their arrival.
Normally, they would arrive with paperwork filled out at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, but “no way can they process this much,” O’Brien said. But when they land at Fort Lee, N.J., or one of two military bases in the South that she declined to name, none of that preparation has been made.
Processing the arriving families and determining where they will be housed has to happen quickly, a task made more difficult by the massive number of Afghans escaping the Taliban.
The State Department informs IRIS when refugees will arrive and how many.
They have a conversation about how many IRIS can take in after IRIS talks with people in the community: mayors, alders, schools, police, health departments, community groups. They all go to New Haven or Hartford and other towns where groups have prepared to be hosts.
The State Department “asked all the resettlement agencies, if we could spare them, to send staff to these bases,” O’Brien said.
“It all happened so fast and so much of our staff are Afghan SIV holders,” O’Brien said, referring to special immigrant visas, one of three ways Afghans can enter the United States.
People holding these visas have worked for or on behalf of the U.S. government.
The other visas are Priority 2, or P-2 visas, issued for those who do not meet the time requirement for an SIV but who worked for U.S.-related contractors, U.S.funded programs or U.S.-based media or non-governmental organizations, according to the State Department. Finally, the Homeland Security Department is issuing humanitarian visas for those who do not have legal permission to enter the United States.
“So many clients have come to us just begging for us to get their families out,” O’Brien said.
While 32 people have arrived in Connecticut, “we’ll likely get hundreds over the next couple of months,” O’Brien said.
She said IRIS has been told by the State Department how many Afghan refugees to expect, “but we can’t say yet. It’s a lot.” IRIS has resettled 500 Afghans in the past five years, she said.
IRIS Executive Director Chris George, Blumenthal and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said this week that as many as 200 Connecticut residents are stuck in Afghanistan, as Taliban troops swarm Kabul and prevent people from reaching the airport.
Most are Afghan citizens who worked with U.S. forces and resettled over the last five years in Connecticut, many around New Haven, George has said. They hold U.S. green cards and live here on a path to U.S. citizenship.
Many are women and children who traveled to Afghanistan for family visits or other events, believing they would be able to return home. Some of the young children are U.S. citizens, having been born in Connecticut.
George has said his agency knows directly of 65 people, and he believes there are between 100 and 200 “who are trapped in Afghanistan,” among about 1,000 Afghan people resettled in Connecticut over the last several years.
Murphy said Thursday he was “devastated” to learn of the Kabul attack. “These brave service members made the ultimate sacrifice today while doing all they could to protect and defend Americans and our allies.”
He said he had been in contact with the State Department, and would continue to monitor the situation closely.
O’Brien said many Afghans want to be resettled in Sacramento, Calif., or Houston, homes to the largest Afghan communities in this country, but the resettlement agencies in those cities — the Sacramento area has five — would be so overwhelmed that many are being sent to other locations.
IRIS has put out a call for temporary housing, as well as threebedroom apartments with a maximum $1,500 rent. Backpacks, school supplies, winter coats and snow boots will be needed, as well as tutors.
George has estimated that as many as 600 Afghan refugees will come into Connecticut under several resettlement programs.
IRIS is one a small handful of resettlement agencies in Connecticut, among them, Catholic Charities and the Bridgeport-based Connecticut Institute for Immigrants and Refugees.
Earlier this week, Airbnb.org and Airbnb announced that Airbnb.org will offer free, temporary housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees worldwide, according to a release. Existing Airbnb hosts or anyone with space to offer free or discounted stays to Afghan refugees can find information at www.airbnb.org/refugees, it said.