The day after suicide bombers killed 13 U.S. servicemembers and well over 100 civilians outside the airport in Kabul, Afghans living here in Buffalo joined U.S. advocates for immigrants and refugees to call for the United States to continue to do everything possible to get as many Afghans who worked alongside U.S. forces out of Afghanistan and help them build new lives in America.
It's not just a matter of getting people onto planes.
There's a labyrinth of bureaucracy involved in getting them the proper documentation that would allow them to come to the United States.
Thousands of Afghans are already on waiting lists to get special immigrant visas, provided to those in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria who have worked with the U.S. But that's a cumbersome process that can take years to go through.
To speed up evacuations, the U.S. is allowing Afghans to arrive as "humanitarian parolees." But that doesn't guarantee permanent legal residency. Also these "parolees" don't qualify for aid through resettlement agencies, like Journey's End Refugee Services.
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"We're just trying to find ways to get them evacuated," said Karen Andolina Scott, executive director of Journey's End, at a video news conference Friday organized by the New York Immigration Coalition.
Ahmad Wali, who was a doctor in Afghanistan who worked as a translator for the U.S. Army from 2004 to 2009, is among about roughly 200 Afghans who now call Buffalo home.
Wali said he personally knows about 20 families here in Buffalo who are trying to get their loved ones out of Afghanistan.
Wali's wife and children are here in Buffalo. But his brothers, sisters and parents are all there. He has been trying to sponsor them since 2015 but was still waiting when the U.S. military began its withdrawal and the Taliban took power. He said he just filed a new round of paperwork with Sen. Charles Schumer's office to get humanitarian parolee status for all his family members.
"His office sent me a form. I sent it back to them. It's a very complicated form. I hope they will come," Wali said.
He implored countries neighboring Afghanistan to provide temporary refuge to those are fleeing the Taliban until they can find a way to the United States.
Of the 200 or so Afghans living in Buffalo, all arrived in the last decade and the vast majority of them, about 90%, arrived here on special immigrant visas.
Wali said Buffalo is a great city for refugees and believes Afghans who resettle here will embrace the city.
"Buffalo is the best place in the U.S. to start your new life," Wali said.
Wali works as a translator for a medical services company now. He owns a house, which he proudly says he's already paid off.
As a board member of the American Afghan Community of Buffalo, Wali said his community stands ready to assist new arrivals by helping them find homes and jobs and navigate their new lives.
But he said he hopes that New York leadership finds a way to get them the kinds of services other refugees are afforded.
He said a top priority should be making sure Afghans are able to obtain driver's licenses.
"When you get a driver's license you do not need to help," he said. "They can find a job for themselves. They can move. They will be able to support their family."
It's not clear how many Afghans may be headed to Buffalo.
Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, D-Albany, who was part of the video conference, said she'd heard roughly 1,000 people evacuated from Afghanistan may eventually end up in New York.
"We really won't know until they get out," Fahy said.
State Sen. Sean Ryan, D-Buffalo, who spoke earlier this week in Buffalo about the Afghan resettlement said the state's Enhanced Services to Refugees Program is well-prepared to welcome refugees. "I look forward to working with our state and federal partners to ensure that all Afghans who make their way to New York are able to receive the critical support that these resettlement agencies provide," he said.
