Afghan refugees leave NJ base after evacuation

WASHINGTON: The last of thousands of Afghan refugees who awaited resettlement at eight U.S. military installations departed Saturday from a base in New Jersey, completing a journey that started with the chaotic evacuation from Kabul in August.

With assistance from refugee resettlement organizations, Afghans evacuated after their country fell to the Taliban have been gradually leaving the military bases in recent months and starting new lives in communities throughout the United States.

The US admitted 76,000 Afghans as part of Operation Allies Welcome, the largest resettlement of refugees in the country in decades. “It’s a really important milestone in Operation Allies Welcome but I want to stress that this mission isn’t over,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, one of nine national resettlement organizations that were part of the effort.

Afghans still in their country but facing danger under Taliban rule as well as those who have made it to the United States will still need assistance, Vignarajah said. “Successful resettlement and integration won’t happen in just a matter of days or weeks,” she said.

“Our new Afghan neighbors are going to need our support and friendship for months and years to come because the challenges they face won’t disappear overnight.” The U.S. plans to admit thousands of Afghan refugees over the next year but they will arrive in smaller groups and will be housed in a facility at a location yet to be determined, the Department of Homeland Security said. Housing facilities for refugees at Joint Base McGuireDix-Lakehurst in central New Jersey will remain open in the interim, the agency said. — AP