It’s recorded that approximately 132,000 Afghan immigrants lived in the United States in 2019. About 70,000 Afghan evacuees have recently resided in US military bases or moved to new homes across the United States. Here, we take a brief look at the number of refugees living in America and their experiences.
Where do Displaced Afghans go?
Refugees are forced to flee their country and seek refuge elsewhere. As of 2020, most Afghan refugees have been running to Pakistan, Iran, and Germany. These three countries together have taken in over 2.3 million Afghan Refugees. The United States took in about 1,600. This resulted from the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Looking at today, Afghan refugees continue to seek asylum. With the recent takeover by the Taliban and more unrest in Afghanistan, over 70,000 people fled to the United States. Of that 70,000, over 37,000 refugees have been approved for resettlement.
How many Afghan Refugees are settled by Region?
Using the Census Bureau’s Regions and Divisions map, almost 37,000 refugees were resettled as such:
- West: 11,398
- Midwest: 7,368
- South: 13,710
- North East: 4,333
What issues are Afghan refugees facing in America?
As Afghan refugees in America, there are substantial language barriers. It makes it difficult for refugees to obtain employment. In addition to the language barriers, the kids will suffer more in school. They will experience racism and harassment – some examples like being called a terrorist after 9/11 and even being called Osama bin Laden.
But through the hardships and many achievements Afghan refugees and first-generation folks experience, they do great things.
Afghans in America and Their Experiences
To dive deeper into Afghan communities in the United States, we look at three individuals with different backgrounds. One was born in a refugee camp, another was born and raised in New York, and the third is a multi-platinum songwriter.
You can learn more about these folks by checking out the interview links below:
Jamil Kocha
In the 1980s, bombings and death occurred endlessly in Afghanistan when the Soviet Union invaded. His parents and their families fled simultaneously and entered the refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan. Jamil Kocha is an Afghan refugee hailing from Logar, Afghanistan. He grew up in the refugee camp and later moved to Sacramento at the age of six, where he spent most of his time afterward. With no English language experience, Kocha improved by the time he was nine years old and “devoured” huge novels like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.
Kocha takes storytelling inspiration from the book The Arabian Nights. He explains it as a way to discover a story within a story. Now, Kocha writes fiction literature while utilizing his experiences taken through life, from revisiting his family in Logar to his time in America. He plans to release another novel in the Summer of 2022.
Interview: How an Afghan refugee became an award-winning author
Fresta Taeb
Born and raised in New York, Fresta Taeb is a cultural advisor who supports the Afghan people. In 2021, while at Fort Dix in New Jersey, she helped Afghan evacuees who experienced PTSD, trauma, domestic violence, and emotional abuse. With Taeb’s experience at the Fort, she’s provided efforts for 10,000-15,000 Afghan evacuees at a time. She explains how the current evacuees are “Afghan Guests” instead of refugees because most of them are on humanitarian parole – they have no visa and have a year to seek asylum. Afghans have two years.
In this conversation, Taeb talks about the experiences of Afghan evacuees in Fort Dix – how it ran like a city with stores run by Afghans and multiple villages in between. Taeb continues to support Afghan refugees in America.
Interview: Stories of recent Afghan Evacuees in US Bases
Meghan Kabir
“If you want to have longevity [in being an artist], learn how to write music.” That tiny piece of advice helped Meghan Kabir in her journey. Growing up in the Bay area, she was involved in acting, modeling, and dancing. She was constantly surrounded by music and art. Because of the exposure to this artsy culture, Kabir became who she is today. Creating music is what landed her with opportunities with record labels and artists. She is best known for Kelly Clarkson’s #1 dance single and VMA nominee “People Like Us”, as well as Selena Gomez’ single “Live Like There’s No Tomorrow”.
Kabir is currently songwriting, advocating, and fundraising. She plans to release songs in Farsi to support Afghans.
Interview: How an Afghan-American became a multi-platinum songwriter with 10 Billboard records
To learn more about Afghans and their achievements, check out “Afghanistan by Afghans” hosted by Misaq Kazimi here (Disclaimer: Kazimi works at Balance).
