We are very pleased to report on our Afghan Refugee projects. The family that we mentor is expects to move into a new apartment between June 16-20. We would like to ask the congregation for help with this move. Please watch the Friday email for sign up genius. or email art@uucharlottesville.org. It would be helpful to have a few people with trucks. The grant we received from a member’s family has allowed International Neighbors to repair three donated cars and buy another for refugee families. We have given out over 70 sewing machines. We are also preparing a petition in support of the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would give these refugees a “fast-track” to citizenship. To read a more complete update go to https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CJAvnY_r7huWA1QhUFbfm-W8NozDAgSGTY7xriXzPMw/edit

UU Cville Refugee Welcome: Jobs, Cars, and Sewing Machines!

The Afghan family of four that we are mentoring is making progress seHling in America. The father of the family just got a job at the Omni where the older son (23 years old) has been working for two months. Both men got their driver’s license and our member, Pat Millman, donated a car to them. The son is university-educated and proficient in English and his father improves every day through classes at the PVCC Adult Learning Center. We are teaching the mother both literacy and English, as she has never gone to school. This is more difficult because Google translate does not translate their Dari/ Persian language with audio, only Arabic writing.

One of our tasks was to introduce American cultural traditions, while honoring theirs. In April we learned about the amazing discipline of Ramadan, and we have celebrated birthdays with them, which is not done in their culture. We have been invited to tea and experienced the warmth and hospitality of their home. Adding to their difficult transition to living in the USA are worries about their grown children and grandchildren still living in fear in Afghanistan. “To go back is suicide,” they told us. However, the family’s immediate concern is for their youngest son’s traumatic injury, despite his having first-class medical care at UVA Hospital, where surgery is likely.

The high costs of renting in Charlottesville have been a harsh lesson for the family. The house that IRC found for them only had a contract for 6 months, so we are helping them look for another apartment. Their moving date is somewhere between June 18 to 22nd. We hope to get help from church members with the move, both packing and moving the furniture.

The Mentors are working on developing the family’s confidence with speaking English. As a birthday surprise, the mother in the family was offered a trip to a beauty salon, as she had requested earlier. Years of war have aged her beyond her years, and we hoped that with the trip she would become more motivated to learn English, as she struggles with the household workload and practicing English. She is tied to the home to care for their injured son, and she needs social outlets. This is further compounded with some anxiety about not being accompanied by a male in her family. A “ladies” lunch at Afghan Kabob with Afghan owners and staff capped her day and, we hope, connected her more to the Charlottesville Afghan community.

The Mentor Team continues to visit the family weekly and help where help is needed. They are: Cathy Lawder, Sharon Baiocco, Kendall RePass, Burnie Davis, Regina White, Mary Beth Wiley, and Breck and Lara Gastinger.

When we began this project last October, one of the Mentors, Maggie Record, became involved with families who were still waiting in hotels for housing. Many of them remained in the hotel for eight months. As the volunteers got to know the plight of these refugees, one UU Cville member and his family wanted to help. He offered a $20,000 donation if we would guide it to an organization who would directly help the “hotel refugees.” In our experience the barrier keeping the many large families remaining in the hotel was affordable housing, and without transportation, the housing search was restricted to the urban ring. We therefore designated the grant for cars. We agreed that International Neighbors would both use the funds for this endeavor and report their expenditures to us. They have bought two cars and repaired three donated cars as well as paid for inspection, fees for titling and plates, insurance for a year, and property taxes. They also bought carseats for families who could not accept rides to appointments without them, and paid fees for drivers’ education courses.

The other project we became engaged in as our relationships with refugee families evolved, is the “sewing machine project.” The volunteers serving the hotel families realized that Afghans have a culture of sewing their own clothes. Someone advertised the need for sewing machines on “Next Door Neighbor” and we have received over 90 sewing machines. A core group of volunteers led by Sandy Brooks and Elizabeth Breeden cleaned, oiled, and approved that they were in good working condition. We have given out over 70 machines. We believe that every Afghan family now has a sewing machine. We also contributed eight machines to the Friendship Court class that is being formed to teach mothers and children to sew, and six machines to a Jefferson School African American Heritage Center class that is teaching quilting. We sold six “collectable” machines and used the money to buy thread and notions so that the gifts are ready to use.

During this time of Covid and war, members of our congregation have found a way to be useful, and, while working together, we have formed a closer bond and appreciation for the many generous and gifted members among us, as well as an appreciation for the difficulties and resources for refugees and the poor in our community.

Appeal for Expedited Afghan Immigration Status

Dear Friends,

I promised the Afghan refugee family whom we are mentoring that I would advocate for them and for all the families who fled when the Taliban took over Afghanistan. They are currently “parolees,” which means that they have two years to live and work in the USA unless they are granted another immigraFon status. Applying for “Special Immigrant Status” (SIV) takes years and documents that they left behind. In the past, our government has granted fast-track “immigrant” status to parolees from Vietnam, Cuba, Hungary, China, and the Soviet Union, to name a few.

Recently President Biden sent Congress a supplemental budget request for Ukraine that also included the Afghan Adjustment Act. To read about the need for the bill, go to this link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CJAvnY_r7huWA1QhUFbfm-W8NozDAgSGTY7xriXzPMw/edit

This bill passed the House, and had the support of Sens. Klobuchar, Coons, AND Sen. Lindsay Graham. However, several a few senators objected to including the Afghan segment, and the Ukrainian assistance bill was approved without the Afghan Adjustment Act.

I think it is time we advocate for these wonderful families. I am organizing a petition to send to our Congressmen and women, and to Senators. If each of us signs it, along with Charlottesville HOME mentors and IRC volunteers, it might make a difference.

The Afghan Adjustment Act is the morally right action for these loyal friends of America who will, I predict, become very successful if they are allowed a path to citizenship. Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota are spearheading this effort.

Look for more about this action soon! Sincerely,
Sharon Baiocco