Thousands of Afghan refugees and Americans have arrived within the Washington area over the previous few days, discovering shelter and a way of aid after shifting from nation to nation and generally going through violent Taliban assaults whereas fleeing Kabul.
At Dulles International Airport on Wednesday, Afghans had been processed and examined for the coronavirus in a closed part. Workers on the airport in northern Virginia then took a number of individuals in constitution buses all through the day, driving them to the close by Dulles Expo Center, the place households had been being quickly housed.
Most of the refugees introduced some items. Some youngsters carried luggage on their shoulders. Parents saved piles of crying infants and diapers. Others solely had plastic luggage stuffed with garments.
More than 6,000 Afghans have arrived within the Virginia area, Governor Ralph Northam stated Tuesday. Many refugees are staying on the Expo Center earlier than closing in on Fort Lee or Fort Pickett, the place they’re deliberate to be launched to Virginia or different states.
At least 1,500 US residents and tens of 1000’s of Afghans who concern retaliation from the Taliban stay within the nation, and the Kabul airport has been a scene of chaos and violence, with mobs of determined US troops on August 31. Trying to flee as a comeback. The time restrict expires.
Those who’ve made it out stated they had been relieved to return to the United States, though many nonetheless concern for relations stranded in Kabul.
Kamran, 23, arrived in Dulles at 4 a.m. on Wednesday along with his sister and three cousins. After exiting Kabul and stopping in Bahrain, he stated he loved touchdown within the US.
“I feel safe here,” he stated earlier than boarding a bus. “I think it’s a better place.”
Kamran had left for Kabul airport 5 days in the past with solely a small bag with two shirts, two pairs of denims, a pair of sneakers and his telephone charger. Making his strategy to the American aspect of the airport, Taliban members beat him head and shoulders with batons. He finally made it and spent two days on the airport, which he stated had been excruciating as a result of the solar was “burning” and there was not sufficient water for everybody.
With a gaggle of different Afghans arriving in Virginia, Kamran took a bus to the Expo Center, the place the refugees got meals, drink and a spot to relaxation.
Outside the centre, refugees stepped down from buses within the sweltering warmth and had been shortly taken inside. A row of buses parked on the aspect of the constructing, which was sealed off with steel limitations and yellow police tape.
Kamran stated he didn’t but know what he would do within the US or the place he would stay completely. For now, he hopes to finish up in California, the place one in all his sisters lives.
“We are just waiting and seeing what happens,” he stated.
Noah, a 31-year-old everlasting resident who came visiting his household in Afghanistan, left the expo middle on Wednesday afternoon along with his spouse, 9-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son. On his strategy to his house in Concord, California, he stated he was blissful to be again, though he was drained after passing by Qatar and Germany.
At the airport in Doha, Qatar, he stated, 1000’s of individuals had been crammed collectively and had “nothing to eat”. He needed to go away two items of bags along with his garments and paperwork on the airplane, and he couldn’t work out get them again.
He additionally expressed concern for his dad and mom and siblings in Kabul. His brother, who helped American contractors in Afghanistan, is making use of for a particular immigrant visa. However, he doubts that it will likely be granted. Although his brother accompanied him to the airport, Noah stated he was denied a flight to America.
Nadeema, a 36-year-old former authorities worker in Afghanistan, fled Kabul the day the Taliban seized management. After his co-workers had been stopped by Taliban members on their strategy to workplace, they requested him to depart the nation.
After strolling greater than two hours on the airport, he noticed vehicles “bumper to bumper” and felt a “sense of panic” as individuals feared the Taliban would return, she stated.
“I felt heavy,” she stated. “Everything I did, 20 years of work, collapsed before my eyes.”
She finally secured a flight to Ukraine that day and reached Dulles on 17 August. She is now dwelling with a good friend in Arlington, Virginia, and hopes to get a job quickly.
On Wednesday, the view exterior the processing middle on the airport was tense. Concerned relations ran round, ready for his or her family members to emerge. Several individuals stopped the airport workers to inquire concerning the flight’s arrival time.
Joe, a 35-year-old hospitality employee dwelling in Prince William County, Virginia, arrived on the airport at 8:30 a.m. to attend for his spouse and two daughters to land. His spouse left for Kabul with their youngsters in early June to attend her brother’s marriage ceremony, which was to happen on 15 August, the day the Taliban captured the capital.
“I’m a little more relieved to know that they are on a flight home, but I would have been much happier if I had seen them earlier,” he stated.
.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
