Starting Over

Azizi is one of the more than 76,000 Afghan refugees who’ve come to the U.S. since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan last August. These refugees were airlifted out of Afghanistan in the two weeks between when the Taliban captured the capital city of Kabul and the final departure of U.S. troops on August 30. It was the largest evacuation of war refugees since the Vietnam War (1965-75).

“It’s a historic effort,” says Angelo Fernández of Operation Allies Welcome, the U.S. government group overseeing the resettlement. “We’re talking about tens of thousands of families upending their lives and really starting from zero.”

The Taliban regained power in Afghanistan last August. Azizi is one of the more than 76,000 Afghan refugees who’ve come to the U.S. since then. These refugees were airlifted out of Afghanistan in the two weeks between when the Taliban captured the capital city of Kabul and the final departure of U.S. troops on August 30. It was the largest evacuation of war refugees since the Vietnam War (1965-75).

“It’s a historic effort,” says Angelo Fernández of Operation Allies Welcome, the U.S. government group managing the resettlement. “We’re talking about tens of thousands of families upending their lives and really starting from zero.”

“Our job is to provide a safe and dignified welcome and to set people up for long-term success,” says Jack Markell, the former governor of Delaware who’s overseeing the resettlement of Afghan refugees. “And that means doing everything we can to get them to the places where it’s affordable, where we connect them with jobs.”

One unresolved challenge is providing a legal pathway for these new refugees to remain permanently in the U.S. Most of the Afghans who’ve arrived this past year were accepted under something called humanitarian parole, which permits them to remain in the U.S. for two years. The Biden administration has allowed Afghans to make use of a benefit known as “temporary protected status” to stay longer. But refugee advocates say a much longer-term fix is needed.

Overwhelmingly, the response among Americans has been positive. A broad array of veterans and lawmakers have long regarded Afghans who helped the U.S. as military partners.

“Our job is to provide a safe and dignified welcome and to set people up for long-term success,” says Jack Markell, the former governor of Delaware who’s directing the resettlement of Afghan refugees. “And that means doing everything we can to get them to the places where it’s affordable, where we connect them with jobs.”

One unresolved challenge is providing a legal pathway for these new refugees to remain permanently in the U.S. Most of the Afghans who’ve arrived this past year were accepted under something called humanitarian parole. That status lets them stay in the U.S. for two years. The Biden administration has allowed Afghans to make use of a benefit known as “temporary protected status” to stay longer. But refugee advocates say a much longer-term fix is needed.

For the most part, the response among Americans has been positive. Many veterans and lawmakers have long viewed Afghans who helped the U.S. as military partners.

Thousands of Americans have joined their effort, moved in part by images of babies being lifted over barbed-wire fences to American soldiers, people clinging to departing planes, and a deadly terrorist attack against thousands massed at the airport, desperate to leave.

“We’ve seen a lot of support across party lines and across communities in the U.S.,” says Fernández of Operation Allies Welcome. “A lot of people know veterans who deployed to Afghanistan, and people love the idea of helping or supporting someone who supported our service members in Afghanistan.”

The formal U.S. refugee resettlement program began in 1980, with vast numbers of refugees arriving in the U.S. in the years after the Vietnam War ended. But the program’s roots go back even further. After World War II, the U.S. took in more than 600,000 people, mostly Europeans, displaced by the war.

Though the current number of Afghan refugees is high, it’s not unprecedented, says Elissa Diaz of Church World Service, an agency that’s been resettling refugees for decades.

“We’ve done it in the past, and we can do it again,” she says.

Thousands of Americans have joined their effort. Many of them have been moved in part by images of babies being lifted over barbed-wire fences to American soldiers, people clinging to departing planes, and a deadly terrorist attack against thousands massed at the airport, desperate to leave.

“We’ve seen a lot of support across party lines and across communities in the U.S.,” says Fernández of Operation Allies Welcome. “A lot of people know veterans who deployed to Afghanistan, and people love the idea of helping or supporting someone who supported our service members in Afghanistan.”

The formal U.S. refugee resettlement program began in 1980. Vast numbers of refugees arrived in the U.S. in the years after the Vietnam War ended. But the program’s roots go back even further. After World War II, the U.S. took in more than 600,000 people. Most of them were Europeans displaced by the war.

Though the current number of Afghan refugees is high, it’s not unprecedented, says Elissa Diaz of Church World Service, an agency that’s been resettling refugees for decades.

“We’ve done it in the past, and we can do it again,” she says.

Refugees get a onetime payment of up to $1,225 per person for food assistance, rent, furniture, and a very small amount of spending money. An additional $1,050 per person is sent to resettlement agencies to provide English classes and other services. Refugees have historically found work quickly in the U.S.

“We’ve seen great success with refugees and their ability to become cornerstones of their new communities,” Diaz says. “Refugees have high rates of entrepreneurship, and they’re able to really thrive.”

Getting refugees set up in a new community requires a lot of work. Resettlement agencies help them find apartments and often act as guarantors on leases since refugees have no credit or rental history for landlords to review. They help find local mosques and doctors, set up bank accounts, and get their kids enrolled in school.

Refugees get a onetime payment of up to $1,225 per person. It helps covers food, rent, furniture, and spending money. An additional $1,050 per person is sent to resettlement agencies. This amount helps provide English classes and other services. Refugees have historically found work quickly in the U.S.

“We’ve seen great success with refugees and their ability to become cornerstones of their new communities,” Diaz says. “Refugees have high rates of entrepreneurship, and they’re able to really thrive.”

Getting refugees set up in a new community requires a lot of work. Resettlement agencies help them find apartments. These agencies often act as guarantors on leases since refugees have no credit or rental history for landlords to review. They also help find local mosques and doctors, set up bank accounts, and get their kids enrolled in school.

Finding affordable housing is challenging at a time when most places have very tight rental markets. Afghan families tend to be large, making it even harder to find apartments for new refugees.

Azizi lives in a two-bedroom apartment in Raleigh with two older brothers who also fled. The rest of his family—his parents, two brothers, and three sisters—remain in Afghanistan, where life is increasingly difficult under the Taliban (see “What the Refugees Escaped,” below). Azizi got a job at an Arab grocery store and works 15 to 20 hours a week, in addition to school, so he can send money home to his family in Kabul.

The Athens Drive school placed Azizi in 10th grade and enrolled him in an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) class, along with biology, world history, and gym.

Finding affordable housing is challenging right now. That’s because most places have very tight rental markets. Afghan families tend to be large, making it even harder to find apartments for new refugees.

Azizi lives in a two-bedroom apartment in Raleigh with two older brothers who also fled. He got a job at an Arab grocery store. Azizi works 15 to 20 hours a week in addition to attending school, so he can send money home to the rest of his family in Kabul. His parents, two brothers, and three sisters remain in Afghanistan. Life there has become more difficult under the Taliban (see “What the Refugees Escaped,” below).

The Athens Drive school placed Azizi in 10th grade. He takes an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) class, biology, world history, and gym.

“The first day I arrived, my English was zero,” Azizi says. “But I have seen development; I am learning now.”

He had to learn not only a new language but also an entirely new alphabet since his native Dari is written in Arabic script. Azizi describes the disorientation he felt when he first arrived at Athens Drive as “like jumping from the first step to the last step of the stairs.”

He wants to go to college and study engineering. Janet MacDonald, who teaches Azizi in her ESL class at Athens Drive, has been impressed. She’s optimistic about his future.

“When we have refugees come in, they are typically laser-focused,” MacDonald says of her ESL students. “They want this knowledge. They’ve worked hard to get here. Their families have sacrificed a lot, so they can come here and get an education.”

“The first day I arrived, my English was zero,” Azizi says. “But I have seen development; I am learning now.”

He had to learn a new language and an entirely new alphabet. That’s because his native language, Dari, is written in Arabic script. Azizi describes the confusion he felt when he first arrived at Athens Drive as “like jumping from the first step to the last step of the stairs.”

He wants to go to college and study engineering. Janet MacDonald, who teaches Azizi in her ESL class at Athens Drive, has been impressed. She’s optimistic about his future.

“When we have refugees come in, they are typically laser-focused,” MacDonald says of her ESL students. “They want this knowledge. They’ve worked hard to get here. Their families have sacrificed a lot so they can come here and get an education.”

That’s how 15-year-old Rahima Sadaat—who also fled Kabul last summer—feels about education. Rahima used the months she was stuck waiting for paperwork on a military base in New Jersey to start studying for the SAT. Soldiers on the base helped her with the math.

“I’m the luckiest girl that I made it here safe,” says Rahima, who’s now living with her family in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “But what about all the girls still in Afghanistan? My aunts are in Afghanistan, and they’re not able to work. It makes me really sad.”

That’s how 15-year-old Rahima Sadaat feels about education. She also fled Kabul last summer. Rahima was stuck waiting for paperwork on a military base in New Jersey for months. She used the time to start studying for the SAT. Soldiers on the base helped her with the math.

“I’m the luckiest girl that I made it here safe,” says Rahima, who’s now living with her family in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “But what about all the girls still in Afghanistan? My aunts are in Afghanistan, and they’re not able to work. It makes me really sad.”

Rahima’s transition to life in America has been smoother than that of many Afghans. She and two of her brothers went to an American school in Kabul, so they already speak English fluently.

For now, she’s doing online school at Nathan Hale High School, taking English, physics, algebra, U.S. government, technology, and financial literacy. She’s been accepted for the fall at Booker T. Washington High School, a nationally ranked magnet school that offers a wide variety of A.P. classes.

Rahima’s transition to life in America has been smoother than that of many Afghans. She and two of her brothers went to an American school in Kabul, so they already speak English fluently.

For now, she’s doing online school at Nathan Hale High School. She takes English, physics, algebra, U.S. government, technology, and financial literacy. She’s been accepted for the fall at Booker T. Washington High School. The nationally ranked magnet school offers a wide variety of A.P. classes.

Rahima has big plans for her new life in America. She wants to be a doctor, like her mother, who died of cancer in 2020, or maybe do something related to artificial intelligence.

“To me, freedom means to have your own education, your own rights,” she says. “I’m very thankful that I’m here, and I can achieve my goal.”

Rahima has big plans for her new life in America. She wants to be a doctor, like her mother, who died of cancer in 2020. Or she might do something related to artificial intelligence.

“To me, freedom means to have your own education, your own rights,” she says. “I’m very thankful that I’m here, and I can achieve my goal.”

With reporting by Michael D. Shear, Jim Tankersley, Safiullah Padshah, Christina Goldbaum, and Yaqoob Akbary of The Times.