A go fund me account has been set up to reunite an Afghan refugee family. Read on for more an account of their progress and the challenges they face. Help Reunite Our Afghan Friends, organized by Kristin Boudreau
Most of you know that I’ve (Maya) spent many hours these past two years helping Afghan refugee families here in Worcester. Alongside me, Libby Westie and her team have been working with two other families. Here is a report from her, as well as a request:
I’m very pleased to report that the families are doing well, with housing, jobs, and educational opportunities. They are well supported by our two teams. We have a new urgent need, however. One of the families (the one consisting of five adult siblings in their twenties who have recently been joined by a wife*), was separated from the rest of their family on that awful day in November of 2021, when everyone rushed to the airport. The rest of their family consists of their parents, a sister, a brother, and his wife and two children, and they have been stuck in Istanbul ever since. They have no ability to work in Turkey, and they can’t return to Afghanistan. The father of this family was high in the Afghan government that our government supported, and was instrumental in writing the Afghan constitution. But because the family were not actively helping our military, their asylum path has been much more complicated, and they have no hope of getting to the US from Turkey. We have determined that there is a path for them to come here if they can make their way to a third country very far away. I can’t get into specifics here, but this is going to be a big challenge! We need to raise airfare and a small amount for housing and food to get them to a refugee camp in the unnamed country, and from there, bring them here.
I know that with the end of the year fast upon us and every charity asking for your dollars, this is a difficult time for me to be asking too! However we fear that this window of hope may be closing. I’m hoping that you might be able to donate any amount to help us help them. If they are able to get here, we will find them housing and jobs and support them, as we have the families who are here. I’m very grateful to those of you who saw this on Facebook and have already given! Thank you!
I wish I could attach some pictures and tell you their names and a little bit about them to make this more personal, but it’s too dangerous (Taliban) to do so until their asylum cases have been resolved. They are fine, fine young people — gracious and generous and funny, and so very brave in the face of every challenge, and I’m sure the rest of the family is the same. At this time of family celebration I hope you might think of your family, and how you would feel if you had no hope of ever seeing them again. And in this time of war and strife when many of us feel helpless to fix so many things, here is something you can do that is a positive, personal act of Hope. I also hope you might pass this on to your network of family and friends.
Below please find a GoFundMe link with more (different) details about our plan to reunite this family.
Wishing you love and luck and a wonderful holiday season, Libby
*the wife who recently arrived travelled all by herself from Afghanistan to Qatar, then flew to Brazil where she was stuck for 4 months, and then made her way as a single woman from Brazil all the way through seven countries to the border in Tijuana, where she was finally allowed to join her husband. This was an incredible feat of bravery, and she is an amazing, lovely woman!
Help Reunite Our Afghan Friends, organized by Kristin Boudreau