Immigrants welcome Afghan refugees, inspired by own journeys

2 years ago 295

Mohammad Attaie and his woman Deena, recently arrived from Afghanistan, get assistance from aesculapian translator Jahannaz Afshar making a doctor's assignment astatine the Valley Health Center TB/Refugee Program successful San Jose, Calif., connected Dec. 9, 2021. The unit of Silicon Valley's decades-old exile wellness session whitethorn not each talk the connection of the Afghan refugees starting caller lives successful the San Francisco Bay Area. But they cognize the anxiousness and accent of newcomers who fled warfare and chaos to extremity up successful a state wherever they don't talk the connection and everything is different. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Tram Pham tears up recalling however pugnacious beingness was astatine archetypal successful the U.S. But she besides remembers the joyousness she felt arsenic a 22-year-old exile from Vietnam erstwhile a caregiver spoke to her successful her autochthonal connection and guided her done a aesculapian screening required of caller arrivals.

Nearly 3 decades later, Pham hopes to wage that comfortableness guardant arsenic a registered caregiver astatine the aforesaid San Jose, California, session that treated her family. The TB and Refugee Clinic astatine Santa Clara Valley Medical Center is screening radical from Afghanistan who began seeking asylum successful the U.S. aft American troops withdrew from the state successful August.

Pham can't talk Farsi oregon Pashto. But she tin soothe patients stressed retired implicit the occupation they can't find oregon the rent that's due. The different day, she held the manus of an older Afghan pistillate arsenic she cried retired her fears.

“I tin spot patients from each implicit the satellite travel in. I see, you know, Vietnamese patients. I spot a batch of exile patients," she said. “I spot myself.”

The TB and Refugee Clinic joins a immense web of charities and authorities organizations tasked with carrying retired President Joe Biden's program to relocate astir 100,000 radical from Afghanistan by September 2022. Nearly 48,000 Afghans person already moved disconnected U.S. subject bases and settled successful caller communities, the U.S. Department of State said successful an email, including much than 4,000 successful California.

The cognition has been hampered by the request to standard up rapidly aft steep cutbacks to exile programs nether President Donald Trump. But the assemblage effect has been overwhelming and enthusiastic, said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, 1 of 9 nationalist resettlement agencies.

“We cognize that resettlement isn’t a weekslong oregon monthslong process. Success requires years of effort. And truthful that’s wherever it’s truly important to person beardown assemblage ties,” Vignarajah said.

The nonprofit, which operates successful astatine slightest 2 twelve states, has resettled astir 6,000 recently arrived Afghans since summer, including 1,400 successful bluish Virginia, 350 successful Texas, 275 successful Washington and Oregon and 25 successful Fargo, North Dakota.

The authorities of Oklahoma has received astir fractional of the 1,800 radical it was told to expect, said Carly Akard, spokeswoman for Catholic Charities of Oklahoma City. Akard said that successful their unreserved to escape, galore of the refugees arrived without identification.

“They fled and didn’t person anything,” she said.

In San Jose, the session is scrambling to prosecute much radical and reallocate unit for the much than 800 radical expected successful the region done September. Not lone is the fig a ample summation from the 100 radical the session assessed successful each of the past fiscal year, it is uncertain erstwhile they volition arrive, said wellness halfway manager Nelda David.

But David said that won't halt the unit of astir 3 twelve from rolling retired the invited mat astatine the clinic, founded 4 decades agone specifically to assistance Southeast Asians aft the Vietnam War. Most of the nurses, assistants and different unit are immigrants oregon erstwhile refugees themselves, and recognize the daze of starting implicit successful a caller country.

Medical interpreter Jahannaz Afshar welcomes Farsi speakers astatine the beforehand doorway adjacent earlier they cheque successful for their archetypal visit. In a windowless office, she explains what to expect implicit astatine slightest 4 visits arsenic portion of a broad wellness assessment, which includes updating immunizations and checking for infectious diseases. A aesculapian exam is required of each refugees.

But Afshar, who moved from Iran successful 2004, besides explains taste differences, specified arsenic the American penchant for idiosyncratic abstraction and chitchat. She'll archer newcomers however to instrumentality the autobus oregon usage the nationalist library, and reassure them that successful the U.S., radical assistance without anticipation of getting thing successful return.

Most unit members are bilingual, and travel from a fig of countries, including China, Myanmar, Sierra Leone and Mexico, said Mylene Madrid, who coordinates the exile wellness appraisal program. But unit tin assistance adjacent without speaking the aforesaid language.

An Afghan pistillate was tense and tense erstwhile she arrived the different time for her archetypal aesculapian exam. By the extremity of the hourslong visit, however, she was cracking jokes and sharing photos with nationalist wellness adjunct Nikie Phung, who had fled Vietnam decades earlier with her family.

Another caller accomplishment from Afghanistan dropped by the session complaining of thorax pains but was truthful anxious she couldn’t elaborate connected her symptoms. Pham, the nurse, asked if she could clasp her hand. They sat arsenic the pistillate sobbed, past yet spoke of the accent of having her full household surviving successful a cramped edifice room.

By then, her pains had receded. Pham noticed that the woman’s girl and son-in-law were upbeat and much comfy speaking English. She pulled the girl aside.

“Would you delight walk clip with your mom?” she asked her. “Talk to her more.”

Staff members person gone retired of their mode to link patients to jobs, furnish bare apartments and pat the broader assemblage for rent and different relief. They've stocked diapers for babies and handed retired acquisition baskets astatine Thanksgiving. During a regular visit, a diligent mentioned helium needed car repairs for work. Within weeks, the session had raised $2,000 to springiness him.

“Your bosom is different," says Jaspinder Mann, an adjunct caregiver manager primitively from India, of immigrants' tendency to help.

Afshar says she can't ideate what refugees are going through. The erstwhile apparel decorator and her hubby were not fleeing strife and shootings erstwhile they chose to permission Iran. And yet, she excessively struggled astatine first.

“And this is 1 of the things that I ever share,” she said. “That adjacent though it’s going to beryllium hard, aboriginal you’re going to beryllium blessed due to the fact that ... you’re going to larn truthful overmuch and you’re going to turn truthful much.”

At the clinic, she hops connected the telephone to put an oculus exam for Mohammad Attaie, 50, a vigor technician who fled the superior of Afghanistan, Kabul, this summertime with his wife, Deena, a journalist, and their daughter. Sana, 10, adores her caller schoolhouse successful San Jose but the mates interest astir uncovering enactment erstwhile they can’t talk the language.

Still, seeing radical similar Afshar and Pham gives them confidence.

“They are successful. They’re moving here. Their connection skills are good. I americium hoping that successful little than a twelvemonth I tin basal connected my feet,” Deena Attaie said, speaking successful Farsi.

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