Posts Tagged ‘Media’
Our view: Welcoming the stranger
Winston-Salem Journal //
A letter soliciting support from members of Congress â including our own Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis â will, we hope, be influential. Its cause is compassionate and just.
The letter, signed by more than 70 evangelical pastors, leaders and church members â participants in the Evangelical Immigration Table â urges our legislators to provide permanent legal status to Afghans who are already resettled across the U.S. after fleeing from the nightmare of Afghanistanâs final days as a democracy in August 2021.
These are the people, and their family members, who assisted the U.S. military and other Americans during our long and, at the end, tragic foray in Afghanistan, only to have to abandon their homes and rush to safety here after civilized allies left and the Taliban resurged. …
Read the full piece at the Winston-Salem Journal.
Visit the Evangelical Immigration Table to add your name to the letter.
Surge of Afghan refugees is exposing housing issues in N.C.
By Alexis Bell, Spectrum News //
RALEIGH, N.C. â A recent surge of Afghan refugees coming to North Carolina has made it difficult to find housing for all the families, leaving some to stay in hotels.
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) North Carolina is helping some of the refugees coming to our state. Omer, the director of the Raleigh office, says they have seen 125 refugees since September. Fifty have come in the past week.
USCRI, Lutheran Services Carolinas and World Relief Durham are all helping people from Afghanistan in Raleigh and surrounding areas.
Welcome House Community Network â a supporting nonprofit of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Congregations â is stepping in to fill temporary housing needs. There are welcome houses in Triangle North, Raleigh, Henderson and Fayetteville. … [READ MORE]
Refugees, Advocates, and Nonprofit Organizations Stress the Need for Better Messaging on How Afghan Refugees Experiencing PTSD Can Access Mental Health Resources
By Mona Dougani //
This story originally published online at NC Health News.
Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro, and Raleigh are starting to see Afghan refugees, who were displaced from their home country in August, resettle in North Carolina.
As the refugees arrive, other Afghan residents already in this state have lessons to share about some of the mental health challenges that often accompany refugees fleeing turmoil who are suddenly thrust into a new life in a foreign place.
Since the Taliban overthrew the Afghan government on August 15 and U.S. troops withdrew from the country 15 days later, many who had lived in the country and fled for safety reasons are being dispersed around the globe.
But a larger exodus from Afghanistan has been going on for two decades now.
Over the years, roughly 6 million Afghans have been forcibly displaced from their homes, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. Of those 6 million, about 3.5 million are still living in Afghanistan, while 2.6 million are refugees living around the world.
North Carolina is expecting about 1,169 refugees in this most recent wave. Read more at the IndyWeek.
‘We need the community to surround them’: Triad resettlement agencies prepare to help people who fled Afghanistan
Arrivals to the Triad area from Afghanistan will be welcomed by World Relief Triad.
Our Executive Office Director, Rob Cassell, spple on behalf of World Relief Triad’s involvement as an agency accepting Afghan parolees.
Various resettlement agencies across the Triad have been made aware of the possible arrivals. Those from Afghanistan are referred to as âhumanitarian parolees.â Humanitarian parole is a status that some receive response to a crisis. It grants immigrants the ability to enter the country when otherwise they would not, such as with the arrival of Haitians and Cubans.
What this status means for these individuals, though, is that that they not receive the same rights and benefits as refugees, as Executive Director of World Relief Triad, Rob Cassell, points out as something to call upon Congress for in taking action.
“As things go right now, there are a lot of gaps to cover,” said Casell. “We all need connections. We all need people to help us. The success of these families and individuals will be based on their ability to make those connections and integrate into the community.”
Read more at News & Record Greensboro.
Triad agencies say they’ll help Afghan arrivals.
World Relief Triad’s office director speaks on behalf of nonprofit in response to Afghan crisis.
As the U.S. prepare to welcome Afghan evacuees, World Relief Triad is one of the many agencies listed as an agency welcoming to Afghan parolees. There is no clear number from Governor Cooper’s office, but agencies are preparing. Additionally, there is an expected 150 people to resettle in Greensboro and Winston-Salem.
Rob Cassell, Office Executive Director, speaks on behalf of office concerning the situation.
“This isn’t going to be a massive flow of people in the next few weeks,” says Cassell. “This is going to be people entering into our community over the next few months. So the need isn’t just going to be over the next few weeks.”
To learn more, watch this piece at WFMY News 2.
BSC and World Relief Durham offer training on refugee, immigrant ministry
The Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSC) partnered with World Relief Durham yesterday (Sept. 23) to host an information session on serving immigrants and refugees. The session addressed assisting Afghan parolees and special immigrant visa holders resettling in North Carolina.
More than 30 pastors and church members from the Triangle area attended. Imago Dei Church in Raleigh hosted the event, according to a press release from World Relief.
Over the next six months, 1,169 Afghan refugees are projected to arrive in North Carolina, the News & Observer reported. World Relief Durham expects to resettle at least 80 refugees from Afghanistan in the next year, and about 300 from other countries. In addition to Raleigh and Durham, Charlotte, Asheville, Greensboro and New Bern will also welcome refugees.
Read the full article by Biblical Recorder & World Relief Staff at the Biblical Recorder here.
These Triangle agencies will resettle nearly half of the Afghan refugees coming to NC
DURHAM â Grocery gift cards, free legal help, winter clothing … and the list of needs keeps growing for a now estimated 500 Afghan refugees that one Durham refugee agency will be resettling in the next year.
Kokou Nayo, refugee community organizer for Church World Service Durham, says among the most important things people looking to help can contribute are financial donations and temporary housing.
Since the last week of July, the organization has helped 14 Afghan refugees, including a family of eight.
In its monthly newsletter, World Relief Durham, another agency, said it expects to resettle 380 refugees in the next year, with at least 80 of them from Afghanistan. …
Read the full article by Laura Brache at the News & Observer here.
âDurham is ready.â City and county officials publicly welcome Afghan refugees
DURHAM
Omid Ahmadzai fled his home in Afghanistan in 2015. He spoke outside Durham City Hall on Monday for those still there.
Ahmadzai resettled in Durham with the help of Church World Service. He spoke alongside elected leaders and refugee workers at a press conference where officials publicly announced their support for Afghan refugees.
âTheir life is at high risk right now,â Ahmadzai said of fellow Afghans who worked for the American government and military yet remain stuck in Afghanistan with the Taliban in control of the country. …
Read full article by Laura Brache at the Herald Sun here.
Durham to welcome Afghan refugees fleeing turmoil of Taliban takeover in Afghanistan
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — Durham will open its arms and welcome Afghan refugees to the city.
Mayor Steve Schewel and other local leaders held a news conference Monday morning to officially state that Afghan refugees were welcome in Durham and would be loved as soon as they arrived.
The refugees are fleeing their home country as the Taliban takes over the county after the collapse of the Afghan government amid the withdrawal of US troops.
ABC11 spoke with an Afghan refugee in Durham who emigrated here a few years ago. He said his 20-year-old cousin died last week during the suicide bomb attack at Kabul Airport, which also killed 13 US service members. …
Read the full article by Tim Pulliam and Ana Rivera at abc11 here.
Durham Will Welcome Refugees from Afghanistan for Resettlement
Durham extended its melody of providing solace to the stranger this week as County Commissioners Wendy Jacobs and Nida Allam announced that the Bull City is one of several cities across the country that will soon receive an unspecified number of Afghan refugees.
âIt is my understanding that we could receive up to 90 refugees in September,â Jacobs told the INDY on Wednesday. âThis is a lot considering that we were only receiving a few hundred per year, total [from all over the world] in Durham in the past, typically.â
Several non-profits, including Church World Service, Lutheran Services Carolinas, and World Relief Durham have stepped up to provide support services that will include housing and translation, Jacobs said on Monday during the Board of Commissionersâ regularly scheduled meeting. …
Read full article by Thomasi McDonald at the Indy Week here.