As Vulnerable Afghans Flee Kabul, US Faith Groups Prepare to Aid Them

Afghans
U.S. soldiers stand guard along the perimeter at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. On Monday, the U.S. military and officials' focus was on Kabul's airport, where thousands of Afghans trapped by the sudden Taliban takeover rushed the tarmac and clung to U.S. military planes. (AP Photo/Shekib Rahmani)

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A USCCB official confirmed to RNS they have been asked to lend support at these other forts as well. Other religious agencies said plans remain in flux.

After years of record-low refugee admissions and resettlement agencies reduced to skeletal staffs, the faith-based groups are now potentially facing numbers they haven’t seen in years packed into the span of a month or less.

“For many of us, this will be the most significant mission of our careers,” Vignarajah told RNS this week.

In a Wednesday night Zoom call to coordinate Fort Lee volunteers, a representative for a secular refugee resettlement group, the International Rescue Committee, said her group believes “the last flights out of Kabul are at the end of August” and stressed the need for more volunteers.

“I do know that we are going to need a lot of people,” the representative said.

This article originally appeared here.

Jack Jenkinshttps://religionnews.com/
Jack Jenkins is a national reporter for Religion News Services. His work has appeared or been referenced in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, MSNBC and elsewhere. After graduating from Presbyterian College with a Bachelor of Arts in history and religion/philosophy, Jack received his Master of Divinity degree from Harvard University with a focus on Christianity, Islam and the media. Jenkins is based in Washington, D.C.

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