Media
Sacramento Region To Host Thousands Of Afghan Refugees
BY JENSEN RADER
The U.S. continues to welcome waves of Afghan refugees and a large percentage of them are settling into the Sacramento region.
Learn what you can do to help Afghan refugees in Sacramento >>
The Afghan Immigration Crisis Is Bigger, Faster, More Traumatic. Are Ministries Ready?
BY STEFANI MCDADE
One of World Reliefâs focuses is on dealing with the trauma incoming Afghans will face upon their escape from Afghanistan and entrance to America. Because of these accelerated immigration processes, their experiences in their home country will be much fresher than for Afghans resettled in previous years.
âI can tell you there is a significant amount of mental health needs. The refugee process is born out of trauma always,â said Kerry Ham, the local director for World Relief Sacramento. But for Afghans âthis is very acute, and it’s a lot of people at one timeââso âmuch of the funding weâre looking at for the next year is developing those pathways to help have thriving, integrated, brand-new Americans.â
World Relief Sacramento has enlisted Afghan counselors from the community to come alongside newly arrived Afghan individuals in the process. Many evacuees suffer from survivorâs guilt in leaving behind loved ones who are now facing the risk of being targeted and killed by the Taliban.
The primary factor when it comes to dealing with mental health issues is being aware of and sensitive to the religious background of Afghans, who are coming from a country that is over 99 percent Muslim.
See the full story on Christianity Today.
Learn what you can do to help Afghan refugees in Sacramento >>
City Of Memphis: World Relief Memphis, Mayor Harris And Mayor Strickland To Host Press Conference On Creating Community Of Welcome
This story was originally published on Patch on Sept. 9, 2021.
On Thursday, September 9, at 11:00 a.m. CDT, World Relief Memphis will host a press conference with Memphis Mayor Strickland and Shelby County Mayor Harris to highlight how the Memphis community can best prepare to receive Afghan allies and parolees in the coming weeks.
Since 2012, World Relief Memphis has served 2,500 refugees and immigrants per year alongside the local church and their partners. The Memphis community now has a unique opportunity to collaborate and welcome their newest neighbors from Afghanistan. A united community effort can help ease the integration process and provide stability as new and aspiring Americans begin to rebuild their lives in the greater Memphis area.
Read the full story here.
Aid Sought for Memphis-Bound Afghan Immigrants
This story was originally published on WKNO on Sept. 10, 2021.
Immigration advocates and Shelby County officials are asking residents for help in their efforts to resettle refugees from Afghanistan in the Midsouth.
At least 65,000 Afghan nationals evacuated after the Taliban takeover of the capital Kabul last month will need to be resettled across the country.
Initially, a small fraction are expected here: 36 people, according to the local resettlement agency World Relief, with possibly more in the future.
At a press conference Thursday, the organizationâs head, PJ Moore, said the process of creating stable lives for the new neighbors requires a âall hands on deck approach.â
âWhile incredibly resilient, incoming Afghans will need the support of public, private and faith-based institutions and individuals to be resettled,â Moore said.
Read the full story here.
36 Afghan refugees to resettle in Memphis
This story was originally published in the Daily Memphian on Sept. 9, 2021.
The Memphis Christian humanitarian organization working with refugees and immigrants in the city for the last nine years expects about 36 refugees from Afghanistan will resettle in the metro area.
That is out of an estimated 50,000 Afghans the U.S. State Department expects to allow entry under various legal statuses following the August fall of the nation to the Taliban.
Under current situations, most of those bound for Memphis will not qualify for federal assistance or federally funded services for their transition to life in America.
P.J. Moore, executive director of World Relief Memphis, said the estimate includes 25 âhumanitarian paroleesâ and an additional 11 with special immigrant visas.
Read the full story here.
36 Afghan refugees headed to Memphis; local governments pledge support
This story was originally published in The Commercial Appeal on Sept. 9, 2021.
As soon as next week, new refugees from Afghanistan are expected to arrive in Memphis and more Afghans are expected to arrive here for the next several months, said PJ Moore, director of the Christian refugee resettlement agency World Relief Memphis.
The numbers are relatively small: 36 people during the first few months, he said. But he said each of the newcomers will require heavy support and orientation to get through the early days in the new country, to find work and in some cases, to learn English.
And only 11 of those new arrivals are being admitted in the “special immigrant visa” category, which qualifies them for a wide range of federal aid, including money for food and other support.Â
Read the full story here.
âIt is our moral dutyâ: Mayor Harris commits Shelby County to help Afghan refugees
This story originally aired on Channel 5 on Sept. 9. 2021.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris says Shelby County is ready to welcome Afghan allies and parolees who are evacuating the country in wake of the Talibanâs return to power.
Harris wrote a letter to President Joe Biden reaffirming the commitment. The letter reads, in part:
âAs our country welcomes refugees from Afghanistan, I am writing to let you know the government of Shelby County. Tennessee stands ready to provide support and stability to those fleeing violence and oppression. I believe we have a moral duty to help those in dire circumstances who supported our troops. I want to applaud your administrationâs efforts to meet this duty.â
Read the full story here.
Midsouth Afghan Refugee Family Watches, Fears for Those Left Behind
This story was originally published on WKNO on August 25, 2021.
From their modest apartment in Bartlett, Seeta Habib and her husband Noor watched in disbelief as the news unraveled from their home country earlier this month.
The images â throngs of people overrunning Kabulâs airport, desperate to flee new rule under the Taliban â left them feeling helpless.
âWe got sick actually,â says Seeta, a 33-year-old pregnant mother. âWe got a bad headache because itâs affecting you emotionally especially when youâre out of the country and you cannot do anything.â
The couple and three of their young children arrived in the Memphis area last October under whatâs called a Special Immigrant Visa, or SIV. The program allows for Afghan nationals who helped the U.S. government with its war effort to resettle here. Before the fall of Kabul on August 15, federal officials said some 20,000 SIV applications were pending approval.
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Read the full story here.
Nonprofit prepares to assist Afghan families arriving in Memphis
This story was originally published in the Memphis Flyer on Aug. 23, 2021.
World Relief Memphis, a nonprofit that serves newly arrived refugees here, is gearing up to assist Afghan refugees resettling in Memphis.
As Afghan families flee their country following the Taliban takeover, PJ Moore, executive director of World Relief Memphis said he anticipates a number will be coming in Memphis.
âAs a community we have to be educated and able to receive these families well,â Moore said. âMemphis is a city known for Southern hospitality. We have a long history of welcoming people from all over the world and now we have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those who are fleeing horrific circumstances.â
Read the full story here.
World Relief Spokane expecting hundreds of refugees
SPOKANE, Wash. – World Relief Spokane is currently home to less than a dozen refugees from Afghanistan. However, in the coming months, they expect an influx of at least 300 more.
Director of Development Kevin Benson told KHQ World Relief was promised federal funding, but that it hasn’t arrived. He said they’ve been relying mainly on donations from the community.
“The need is far greater than the resources right now,” Benson said.
Outside of financial difficulties, Benson said the agency also wrestles with the phycological impacts refugees experience when uprooting their lives in such a short time.
“Quite literally, people may have been running for their lives before they were able to get to a place of safety and were able to get here,” Benson said.