We can now add Afghan refugees to our list of unhappy, unemployed immigrants. Arriving on Special Immigrant Visas especially designed for interpretors who helped the US military, like other refugees they are dependent on care by the volags (supposedly voluntary agencies) contracted by the State Department to resettle refugees. And, they, like the Iraqis we have been writing about are wondering what will become of them if a job is not forthcoming. From the Kansas City Star:
(Mohammad Naseer) Yasini arrived in Kansas City last month and is one of the hundreds of Iraqis and Afghans who move to the United States on a special immigrant visa after serving alongside American troops in their home countries. The visa was created specifically for those whose lives have been threatened because of their work for U.S. forces.
But many of these refugees do not feel special. They arrive here reliant on nonprofit social service agencies and become ensnared in the red tape of securing federal resettlement assistance for housing, employment and health care. They often find they cannot resume the professional careers they once held or had planned in their native countries.
What federal resettlement benefits they do receive expire in six months for Afghans and eight months for Iraqis, a small time frame to start a new life in a new country that they had risked their lives for, said Bob Carey, vice president for resettlement and migration policy for the International Rescue Committee.
“They are essentially dumped here,” Carey said. “They are not getting shot or killed, but they are not getting the resources they need. It’s comparable to American veterans not receiving the services they need. [That is a bit of a stretch, Mr. Carey] We’re not serving well those who suffered on behalf of the United States.”
Read the whole story and especially the comments which are much more interesting than the news itself . It is the same old story we have heard many times—resettlement agencies leaving people struggling as the economy continues in free-fall.
Please note, this special immigrant visa, described here, is not to be confused with the special immigrant visa that Senator Ted Kennedy pushed through Congress last year that allows up to 5000 additional Iraqis (those who have worked for the US government) to come as refugees to the US each year.