Since late October, following the fall of the Afghan capital to the Taliban, some 90 Afghan refugees have been resettled in Vermont — and refugee organizations hope to bring a total of 260 Afghans to the state by the end of February.
They’ve so far been relocated to Chittenden County and Montpelier, but more arriving Afghans will be placed in several towns in southern Vermont, according to the two agencies handling their resettlement.
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants is preparing to bring 160 Afghans to Chittenden County, Montpelier and Rutland.
The Ethiopian Community Development Council, another resettlement agency contracted by the federal government, plans to relocate the remaining 100 Afghan refugees to Bennington, Rockingham, Putney and Brattleboro, where the development council has an office.
In September, Gov. Phil Scott’s administration announced a plan to host 100 Afghan refugees, but that number increased to 130 in November. Now, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants says 260 Afghan men, women and children are expected to have been relocated to various parts of Vermont from domestic U.S. military bases before the end of February, including the 90 who already have arrived.
The Afghans will be among an estimated 650 refugees from various countries to be resettled in Vermont by Sept. 30, the end of the federal fiscal year, said Amila Merdzanovic, Vermont director for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.
If these plans go through, this will mark a milestone as the state becomes a new home to refugees.
“We will have resettled the highest number of refugees in the history of the state,” Merdzanovic said.
The Ethiopian Community Development Council is welcoming its first group of Afghans to Vermont next week, said Thomas Huddleton, its co-sponsorship manager in Brattleboro.
He emphasized the importance of community support and engagement in enabling Afghan refugees to see that they could build a future in Vermont. “We have to really show our new neighbors what we love about Vermont and help them find what they could love here,” Huddleton said.
It’s also important, he said, to place Afghans in the same communities so they can support each other as they adjust to their new lives in the U.S.
To help with the adjustment, the development council has formed groups of seven volunteers who will assist each household with important aspects of life: cultural orientation, education for children, health care, employment, transportation, housing and donations. These trained volunteers, Huddleton said, are committing their services for the newcomers’ first nine months in Vermont.
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants highlighted the ongoing need for suitable housing, particularly in Chittenden County. Refugees being resettled need to find affordable housing since they’ll soon be on the hook for rent, said Merdzanovic, the organization’s Vermont director.
Most refugees have very little luggage. Some only have the clothes they’re wearing, she said. Each person receives $1,225 as “welcome money” pooled from government allocations and donations, but this type of financial assistance is given only once.
Homes with three to four bedrooms, which can accommodate large families, are especially a challenge, Medzanovic said. Some Afghan families are made up of parents with as many as six children, she said.
“What’s out there is not something that our families can afford,” Merdzanovic said.
Until people have found suitable housing, she said, they’re staying with either host families or at Airbnb short-term lodging properties.
To help Afghan refugees make ends meet until they’re on their feet, the organization is soliciting donations, such as gift cards for grocery stores and department stores.
Volunteers in Rutland, for one, have started a drive to collect home supplies. The list includes pots and pans, pillows, LED light bulbs, diapers and trash cans.
In the initial weeks and months — until the newcomers get used to local public transportation or get their driver’s license — they’ll require help getting around. Volunteers are needed to drive them to medical appointments and other offices.
Later, volunteers will be needed to give English language lessons.
Both the Ethiopian Community Development Council and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants said they’ve received a lot of support from local residents where the Afghan refugees will be resettled.
“Every and any support that one can imagine, people have come forward with it,” Merdzanovic said. “It’s been really, really heartwarming.”
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Afghans are the third-largest displaced population in the world, after Syrian refugees and displaced Venezuelans. The vast majority of Afghan refugees — 2.2 million — are living in Pakistan and Iran.
The UNHCR said that some of the Afghans who’ve been resettled served as translators or interpreters during the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. Due to their employment with the U.S. government, many faced serious threats to their safety.
