HARTFORD, Conn. — As the final U.S. military troops left Afghanistan today, ending a 20-year occupation, Connecticut prepares to receive many Afghan refugees.
According to Connecticut U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), over 120,000 Afghans have fled their homeland since Taliban takeover.
One West Hartford man hopes 51 members of his family will soon join them.
"The province where I'm from everybody knows that I am a U.S. citizen and I served in the U.S. Army against the Taliban," said the man who asked that his identity not be revealed.
"Please help my family. Two of my brothers are already dead," he said, noting that the Taliban killed his brothers eight years ago and recently warned other family members.
And it’s cases like this that have Connecticut's multiple refugee resettlement agencies ramping up their efforts, including Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS) in New Haven.
"They anticipate re-settling as many as 700 refugees this year, which is a lot more than they are used to resettling," said Barbara Davis, President of Danbury Area Refugee Assistance (DARA).
Susan Schnitzer of the Connecticut Institute for Immigrants and Refugees (CIRI) said the agency knows there is going to be a rush of folks coming over the next month or two, but they anticipate receiving folks from Afghanistan for months and years to come.
All of these organizations are looking for cash, food, clothing and contacts with landlords with good clean housing available for rent.
"Every single one of these Afghanis has been vetted," said Blumenthal. "Vetted once, twice, fully and completely."
Blumenthal says the Afghans are being moved to Qatar and other countries around the world, where they are vetted before being sent on to the United States.
According to the Connecticut Immigrant and Refugee Coalition, Connecticut typically receives 3% of the world's annual refugees.
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