Afghans evacuees being moved from camps to new homes in US

WISCONSIN (Pajhwok): A number of Afghan evacuees in various states of the US are being moved from camps to settle in their new homes.

After the Taliban captured Kabul on August 15, the US and its allies evacuated tens of thousands of Afghans on military planes.

The Afghans, numbering about 120,000, were first moved to Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain, and then to Germany, Albania, Macedonia and other countries.

After spending several days in these countries, the Afghan evacuees were flown to the US on special planes and temporarily settled in military camps in various US states.

Until filing of this report, about 70,000 Afghans have been evacuated to the US, with the rest living in the Middle East and Europe and are waiting to be moved to US.

The US Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, and the Department of Public Health in these camps have been processing Afghan evacuees’ documents and taking their medical tests.

NaveedShinwari, a resident of Nangarhar province, was one of the first evacuees who settled at the Fort McKay military base in Wisconsin state of US.

Talking to Pajhwok Afghan News, he said, “I am very happy after a long and tiring journey for a month and a half in the camp, I am going to my new house today.”

Shinwari thanked the US government for helping to evacuate them from Afghanistan and supported their new life without financial or security problems.

He said the camp had all basic necessities of life, including enough food, clothing, footwear, health facilities, mosques and English language courses.

“I want to work here in the US and pursue my higher education as well as economically support my family in my country,” he added.

The Fort McKay camp in Wisconsin has housed the most or 13,000 Afghans, as transfer of evacuees from the camp to their new homes has been started while more evacuees are being brought to the camp from Germany.

Idris Ahmad, another resident of Nangarhar province who lives in the camp, said he entered Kabul airport in very difficult conditions and then flew to the US on a five-day flight.

He told Pajhwok Afghan News, “We are familiar with the life of a refugee, we used to go through difficult days in Pakistan, but now there are relatively many living facilities here, although we have spent many days in this camp.” “Our documents have not been processed yet, but the camp is better than Kabul’s life of fear.”

Idris was happy that the processes of evacuating Afghans from the camp has begun and hopes that soon they will be relocated to their homes and start a new life there.

He says they are given all necessary support of life by the government for up to eight months, after which they will be able to provide that support for themselves.

Ismail Zazai, a resident of Paktia province, thanked the US government and people for helping them in their difficult times and providing them with livelihood facilities.

In addition to Fort McKay in Wisconsin, the evacuation of Afghans from camps in New Mexico, Texas and Virginia has also begun.

Mansoor Ahmad, an Afghan refugee who left a military camp in Texas, told Pajhwok that Afghans from different provinces were living there and that the process of their relocation has been accelerated.

He said the camp provided him with information about American laws, people’s rights and life, so they would follow them and would not face any problems in the future.

Officials at Fort McKay Camp in Wisconsin say 1,200 people have been evacuated so far and the process is ongoing.

The Pentagon says about 70,000 Afghans have been shifted to the US and the process is still underway.

A statement issued by Pentagon said that all the living facilities in the camps have been provided to the Afghan evacuees.

The US State Department says that US Congress and US President Joe Biden had approved $6 billion for the resettlement of Afghan refugees.

US State Department officials say that contracts have been signed with nine non-governmental organizations to cooperate in resettlement of Afghans and provide them with all necessary services.

mds/ma

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