HIAS Resettlement Partners Preparing to Greet Afghans
Aug 23, 2021
Evacuees prepare to board a C-17 Globemaster aircraft at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 18, 2021.
(Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Nicholas Guevara)
As the humanitarian crisis continues to unfold in Afghanistan, HIAS and its partners across the United States have leapt into action.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, HIAS resettlement affiliates Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay and Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley are getting ready to welcome roughly 130 Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders between them in August alone, as JWeekly reports. That’s the same number in three weeks that typically arrives in about half a year.
These Afghans are fleeing in an emergency, forced to leave homes, communities and beloved family. Behind them are friends, relatives, and colleagues who are facing violent threats and uncertainty; ahead of them is a new life in a country conducted in a language many cannot speak.
JFCS East Bay’s senior director of development Holly Taines White said, “This whole thing has been just super expedited…. Doing this work is deeply rooted in our history and our values.”
During the current crisis in Afghanistan, HIAS is working to support the effective processing of Afghans and to prepare its established and robust network for their resettlement. Follow HIAS’ latest news, and find out how you can help.
