Wheels for independence for new Afghan Neighbors

Hi, my name is Ariel, and I’m fundraising for a car for our new Afghan neighbors. This incredible family of 8 was the first family if Afghan refugees to be resettled in Stevens Point.

 

Dad worked with the US military for 12 years, risking his own life on a daily basis to identify and disarm bombs. His work prevented innumerable unnecessary deaths, not only of US Military personnel, but also civilians and children, who would otherwise come across unexploded weapons in their daily life to tragic consequences. He was a little too good at his job, and caught the attention of the Taliban who regularly threatened him and his family, requiring him to stay up nights guarding his house and family, lest intruders enter under the cover of darkness to take him or his family away, as happened to so many he knew.

 

As Afghanistan fell to Taliban control, Dad was at the Kabul airport with the military trying to regain control for evacuation flights, a group of Taliban militia came to The gate, telling Mom to leave her house and let them take their car, their guns, their valuables...and that they would kill her children and throw them in the river behind the house. She did not give in, though. Instead she picked up the gun that her husband and brothers used for their security watches and told them they did not have permission to enter, that she was prepared to be killed before they would enter her home or harm her family, and told them to leave. They did leave, and a few nights later under the cover of darkness she gathered her children, a few belongings, and fled with her sister and brother-in-law's families to meet her husband at the Kabul airport. They left behind several families they used to support with Dad’s military salary, and lots of incredible friends and family who did not work for the US, but remain in danger because of their association with people who did…not to mention the beautiful new home they had just built, where they always had guests and hosted family and friends who needed a place to stay in the city, their orchard full of apricots and plums and mangos and mulberry trees, their cows and goats, their car, and the beautiful land and culture that was all they had ever known.

 

After the ordeal of escaping their home, living in the Kabul airport with no plumbing or electricity for several days, staying in a camp in Italy for a week, and then New Jersey for 5 months, Mom, Dad, and their six kids ranging from 1 year to 10 years old, landed in Stevens Point, WI, which was described to them as a village in the forest. Several families of their relatives, who used to live on the same block in Jalalabad were resettled in Madison and Milwaukee, but their request to be resettled in the same city was denied since there were no more resettlement spaces left there. It is the first time that they have lived with only their nuclear family, and even with 8 people at home, it feels really isolated. They are very happy to have their three oldest daughters in school. Knowing that the Taliban only weeks ago, once again forbid girls from studying in Afghanistan makes the ability to send the kids to school feel that much more important.

 

The local community has really come together to support this family, helping them find household items, get fabric and a sewing machine, traditional food items and local specialties. As they settle in and make their home their own, they are also working diligently to gain the skills they need to become independent and contribute to their new community. They have gone through cultural training, have English classes multiple times a week, and just recently Dad landed a great construction job so that he can support the family financially. Last week, he had a great triumph of passing his road test and earning his drivers license (no small feat when the test is administered in a language you are learning, and you aren’t allowed a translator!) Things are really falling together, and they are building a great foundation for their new life here in Wisconsin, but there is one very important puzzle piece left. Transportation. Keeping a good job requires reliable transportation. The closest mosque is a half hour drive from Stevens Point. Grocery shopping for a family of 8 is hard to do on the bus. The ability to visit family in Madison and Milwaukee without depending on friends for transportation would lift a bit of the weight of all they’ve come through to get here.

 

As of June 25, we have identified the vehicle that we want to buy. With the incredible generosity of over a hundred donors, Catholic Charities, Philanthropic Education Organization (POE) and Van Horn Nissan, we are within reach of our new neighbors owning and insuring a car. Reliable cars that will last, safely transport their family of 8, and not require constant expensive maintenance are hard to come by. With only a few months in the US, they don’t have credit history to use for a loan (and loan payments on top of the already huge living expense of a large family and a single income are more than they could afford). This family deserves the independence they will get from having a reliable car, and so, so much more. I invite you to join me in this last big push to set them up for financial success. Let’s show them some real Midwest hospitality!