Today, my youngest daughter informed me that she is donating household goods and used items after cleaning her garage. I was touched by her message, because her action showed her kindness and empathy for others, a character that my beloved wife, Macrine (RIP) had possessed. It reminded me why I fall in love with her, my deceased spouse for over 63 years of married life . This act of empathy and helping others reminded me that my daughter has the traits and character just like her mother.
To to all my readers residing the Sacramento area, please
try helping the Afghan Refugees in our area. Most of them came to US
with nothing except clothing on their body and maybe just one suit case.
Here' s an article( bottom of page) on where, how and what to do to
help.
Children
playing in the streets of Kabul in October of 2020, months before many
were forced to evacuate to Sacramento. Photograph by Sohaib Ghyasi
By Nikolas De La Torre and Isaiah Merado Acosta
The fall of Afghanistan’s US-backed government has resulted in tens of thousands of refugees looking for new homes. Many of them have found a safe haven in Sacramento.
In August, the Afghanistan government collapsed at an unpredictably fast rate two decades after the United States invaded in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Taliban regime, which the United States defeated in 2001, is now back in power. Former President Donald Trump signed a deal with the Taliban in February 2020 promising a U.S. military withdrawal. President Joe Biden followed through and oversaw that withdrawal, which concluded dramatically this summer.
Afghans who were able to evacuate are now being resettled throughout the United States. Hundreds are coming to the Sacramento region, joining a large Afghan community already here.
As of 2019, one-out-of-nine Afghans living in the U.S were based around California’s Capital City, according to census figures. There were approximately 9,700 Afghans residing in Sacramento County alone, more than any other county in the nation. There were also an additional 2,000 Afghan natives living across Yolo, Sutter, Placer, or El Dorado counties.
Afghans refugees are centered in the Arden-Arcade area of Sacramento region. There were roughly 4,200 of them there as of two years ago.
Community leader Besmellah Khuram said Afghans are adapting quickly to life in Sacramento.
“First off, it is because of the weather; second, it is cheap; the third [reason] is it is a larger community and it feels like home,” Khuram said. “You can find all types of Afghan food, groceries, shops, tourist businesses here”.
Khuram also noted the large enclave that is already here, and how many more Afghan families will be joining them soon.
Lisa Welze, Director of the Sacramento office of the International Rescue Committee, said that the area remains an affordable place to resettle Afghan refugees relative to other parts of California.
“In Sacramento, we’ve been resettling larger numbers because there’s already a community in California,” Welze explained. “The community began in the Fremont area, in the Bay Area, and then as the cost of living increased and over time, Afghans began moving to Sacramento.”
But, even though Sacramento is considered cheap compared to other cities throughout California, the rising cost of living has posed a challenge to helping refugees, according to Welze.
“The Sacramento region has reduced the number of folks it’s going to help because of housing,” she acknowledged. “We’re primarily resettling people who already have relatives here. And in those cases, their relatives are helping them to find apartments, but certainly it’s a challenge.”
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