CA Lawmaker Meets With East Bay Volunteers Serving to Afghan Refugees Discover Meals, Housing, Social Providers – CBS San Francisco
CONCORD (KPIX) – After nearly 20 years, the United States officially left Afghanistan on Tuesday. But it leaves a nation in turmoil and thousands of refugees who are looking for new homes in America and for some in the Bay Area.
Over the weekend, volunteers met at the Noor Islamic Cultural Center in Concord to start planning relief efforts for Afghan refugees. This includes food, shelter, interpreters, social services and assistance for families with children from infants to teenagers.
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“They left the country with nothing but what they were wearing. So we plan to provide everything for them, ”said Sadique Popal, chairman of the board of the Islamic Center.
On Tuesday afternoon, local Afghans met with Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, who says the state is ready to do its part despite the cost of living in California.
“We have relocated more people from around the world who came here as refugees than in any other state,” said DeSaulnier. “And so we have a good infrastructure. Is it perfect No, but we’re getting better and better. “
But the Afghans also want the federal government to put international pressure on the Taliban to end their brutal oppression of the Afghan people, especially their women, which has made so much progress over the years.
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“They had an education to which they previously had no access. They had prestige that they had no access to before, ”said Popal. “That’s why – we’ve brought them this far, it hurts so much right now! It’s so sad to just leave them there. “
“It just feels like everything that has moved forward in the last 30 years has somehow crumbled,” said Henah Akbar, a young Afghan American who lives in Clayton. “People ask, why has the US been there for 20 years when the Taliban are still there? So it almost feels like a failure. “
But unlike when the Russians left, few Afghans wanted to see the Americans leave, according to Fazel Adiani.
“You have withdrawn a lot of problems,” he said. “They couldn’t bring peace, they couldn’t bring a solution, and they couldn’t decide what to do. But they left the country, left great unrest in the country. “
With the US going as it did, there is little military influence left, but DeSaulnier said the Taliban must be careful or risk isolation from the global community. But will the Taliban even care? Many Afghans believe that they are less interested in building a nation than simply demolishing it.
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The organizers say the relief efforts in the Bay Area will encompass every aspect of life for Afghan refugees. For more information on the required requirements, visit noorislamicandculturalcommunitycenter.com.
