New Paltz for Refugees, a grassroots, volunteer, nonprofit group working with other agencies to resettle those who have fled Afghanistan and are awaiting resettlement in the United States, announced the arrival of a seven-member family to the New Paltz area.
The family fled their home country after the Taliban took control following the departure of the U.S. military and had been staying at a military base in the Midwest. The arrival of the family comes just four weeks after the New Paltz for Refugees formed and held its first virtual meeting.
The family, whose names are being withheld due to concerns over the safety of family members they left behind, fled their country with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They need money for housing, food, clothes, transportation and other necessities as well as jobs. Although they received a stipend, it is not enough to sustain them. The family is composed of a husband and wife and five children (four boys and one girl). The children range in age from a toddler to teenagers. After arriving this past weekend, they are living in temporary housing.
New Paltz for Refugees has raised more than $26,000 and is asking for the community’s support to further help this family. To learn more about the family and how to donate, please see: https://www.newpaltz4refugees.org/
New Paltz for Refugees has partnered with Christ the King and the Jewish Congregation of New Paltz to move Afghan families to this area. The New Paltz refugee family is one of many in the U.S. looking to resettle. There are about 55,000 refugees who fled Afghanistan and are currently in U.S. bases. These are refugees who had helped the U.S. military or U.S. interests. Another 40,000 refugees are expected to arrive in the U.S. over the next few months. Volunteer groups, non-profits and NGOs across the U.S. are working together to resettle the refugees.
The father of the New Paltz family said they were lucky, noting that he was “able to manage my escape with my immediate family from Kabul Airport in a U.S. military plane to Qatar soon after Taliban took over Kabul. I risked my entire family and my own life as we raced to get to a gate at Kabul Airport. It was just like a movie, a terrifying movie that you don’t want to be in.”
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