When Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, millions of lives were put at risk. Since then, we have welcomed and walked alongside many Afghan families seeking safety in the United States.
Three years after the fall of Kabul, we convened a panel of Afghans and humanitarian workers responding to meet the needs of displaced Afghans in the U.S. and those who remained in their home country. They share updates on what’s happening now and how we can best support Afghan communities during this challenging time.
Watch the webinar or read the full transcript included below.
*Views expressed by panelists in this webinar are their own and do not necessarily represent those of World Relief.
4 ways to take action on behalf of Afghans and others experiencing displacement today:
- Advocate for the Afghan Adjustment Act to ensure the future safety and stability of Afghans in the U.S.
- Learn how you can build welcoming and inclusive communities for Afghans with our Afghan Culture Guide Course (free with code CULTUREGUIDE24)
- Form a Good Neighbor Team to welcome refugees rebuilding their lives in the U.S.
- Give to help families in crisis around the world
Full Webinar Transcript
Mark: Welcome everyone and thank you for showing up today to discuss three years after the fall of Kabul with this commemoration as we remember the regime change and what is going on in Afghanistan today. I just want to thank you for joining us and listening in here. If you’re here with us, whether a panelist or an attendee listening in, please know you are important to World Relief and even just by showing up here, it is so encouraging to us and to our friends across the US and the world.
Our mission at World Relief is to boldly engage the world’s greatest crises in partnership with the church. I’ll be the first to admit we’ve been through many tough seasons of crises in these years, including those that are seemingly forgotten by the world, but at World Relief we are committed to not forgetting those who are suffering vulnerability. In fact, one of our values is to intentionally go to the most fragile places in the world and to push into what they are experiencing and how we can help.
Thank you for being here and for standing with us today. That matters to us. My name is Mark and I’m a training advisor here at World Relief directing some of our efforts to equip churches with learning resources and opportunities around all different kinds of immigration and refugee issues. I am delighted today to get to interview some of our Afghan friends across the U.S. as well as global partners as we reflect on this three-year point in time since the fall of Kabul.
For security today we’re just using our first names. I would like to introduce our panelist. Muzhgan is with us as a community ambassador. She came from a teaching and education background where she helped empower women and girls through education and training and financial sustainability. Her current role here in the US allows her to work with people from many different cultural backgrounds to help them also achieve that same sustainability and to be independent. I love that passion. Muzhgan. Thank you so much for being here with us today.
Muzhgan: Thank you for having me.
Mark: Yes, welcome. Ajmal is also with us. He is an Afghan immigrant that has served in his past work as a supervisory security investigator at the U.S. embassy in Kabul in Afghanistan for over four years, and so he has extensive expertise in security operations and crisis management. He now is here in the U.S. where he works in family services as a community navigator and offers assistance and support to the Afghan community in his California town. He is dedicated to fostering unity and resilience with the diaspora community of Afghanistan here. Thank you Ajmal for your work and for being here.
Ajmal: Thanks for having me.
Mark: Yes, welcome. Shola is also with us here. She arrived to the United States as a refugee and was resettled through World Relief in 2001 with her two children. She navigated her new life here in this country by working as a seamstress and interior designer. She is now working as a groups coordinator specialist with refugees and immigrants giving back through all that she’s learned, and we are so glad to have her with us. She is happily married with six wonderful children now. Shola, thank you for being with us today too.
Shola: Thank you so much for having me here.
Mark: Anna is also with us today. Anna works with a humanitarian and relief organization located in Afghanistan. Her support office where she’s based is in Europe, and they provide health and nutrition emergency food assistance programs. Anna, we’re so glad you’re here with us to share some insights on the ground as well on what you’re seeing. Thank you so much for joining us as a World Relief partner.
Anna: Thanks for inviting me.
Mark: Today as we gather, I just want to start by expressing my deep solidarity with you all as we remember and commemorate what happened in Afghanistan three years ago. We as World Relief are here not just to listen but to hold space for your stories. Stories of resilience and loss. We recognize the immense courage that it takes to share experiences like this. I just want you to know that our hearts are with you. This is a safe space and we’re committed to walking alongside you and with the people of Afghanistan, to remembering. Your voices matter deeply to us and we are standing here with you in unwavering support.
If ever the questions I ask you today don’t sit right, you are welcome to pass if you need to. You’re welcome to say as little or as much as you’d like. We are here to listen anytime you want to share more but there’s no pressure. This is a safe space. I just want to say that directly. I confess as I was preparing to facilitate this conversation, my heart was not prepared as I researched to learn in detail about the severe humanitarian crisis that Afghanistan continues to face. Just to set some of the landscape for us who are listening, millions of people remain in need of aid due to the economic collapse and conflict that continues in the country.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is saying that the country is in a state of economic free fall, as they call it, so it’s reliant heavily on international aid which is diminishing as the international community struggles to balance humanitarian compassion with concerns that they might actually be supporting the Taliban regime. The Afghan population has paid the price of that with currency shortages, outbreaks of disease, damage to infrastructure, deterioration of basic public services.
Many Afghans have limited access to shelter and education, health care, electricity, food, clean water, basic necessities, sanitation systems. Roughly 6.3 million people are internally displaced persons within Afghanistan. Human rights, the regime’s oppressive policies, especially towards women, have worsened living conditions for everyone. Especially women, hindering aid efforts too as these restrictions on employment and dress and freedom of movement, segregation of men and women in public life end up complicating humanitarian operations as well and access to basic services.
This is just some of the context about what I was reading and my heart was broken. I can’t imagine yours but I would just love to start by asking you what is in your heart? How are you feeling after three years when you talk to loved ones in Afghanistan or those who have been resettled here in the US, what are they saying? Help us get a real human pulse on what are the greatest challenges that are still facing Afghans today. Muzhgan, let’s start with you.
Muzhgan: First of all, I want to say thanks for this opportunity. After being in the United States for three years, I think I made a lot of progress. I have my driving license, completed my ESL classes and got admission at EWU to continue my education. The most important, I got a full-time job at World Relief Spokane that I love. My family is very happy for me that I resettled here in the United States. They are still living in back home Afghanistan. I talk to them every day. Sadly, I lost my mom three months ago. She had breast cancer. My sibling and my dad want to come here and get settled in the United States.
People from my community who live here in Spokane are so thankful for the opportunities, especially the work opportunities and education that they have here in the United States. Also, they are so happy for the bright future of their children. Especially now when the Taliban has banned girls to continue their education after grade six. If we talk about the challenges that the people face, there are multiple challenges that Afghans face back home. Girls are not allowed to go to school after grade six and there’s less job opportunities. Everybody has economic problems, no working health system.
Especially after the collapse of the Afghan government, most of the doctors and the healthcare workers, they fled the country and now there are not enough people to provide the service to the people. Especially the biggest challenge is women in labor as they are now on their own during their childbirth. Afghans who live here in the United States and Spokane, especially the newcomers, they also have many challenges. A majority of them don’t know how to speak English, which is the most big challenge. They don’t have their driving license. They are not familiar with the bus transportation, which is totally different from what they used to have back home.
It’s hard to find the kind of job they had back home in Afghanistan. The people who run their small businesses back home, it’s not easy to start a new business here in the United States. Learning the new skills without having and knowing the language is the hardest thing for them.
Mark: Thank you for what you shared. My heart goes out to you with the loss of your mother as well.
Muzhgan: Thank you.
Mark: We lament with you. Thank you for sharing everything that you have.
Muzhgan: Yes. Thank you.
Mark: Ajmal, I wonder if there’s anything you would add as well, brother.
Ajma: Thank you, Mark. Thanks for having me. Actually, I can say that a couple of days ago I had a chat with my friends. I was just trying to see how they are thinking about this third year that we are suffering. Actually, the people that I have spoken to, that was from different categories of Afghan community. That was from new arrivals and also from elite and also from the academic figures. At the end of the day, I found that we are all having similar feelings. The feeling is, we feel divided into two parts. Afghans are currently from different categories. They are feeling that they are divided in two parts.
Their actual soul is back home. They are back home with the tons of emotions, cherished memories, love, feeling, attachment. They’re all there, but due to safety and security, they just end up to Western countries in order to seek resettlement. Now, let’s check how these two parts are doing. Those who are in resettlement and the actual part of our soul, which is in Afghanistan. As Muzhgan listed, the people who are in resettlement, they are having variety of challenges. Although physically they are safe, but mentally they are having trauma of displacement. They are having financial challenges. They are having cultural challenges.
They are having even to an extent I can say social challenges in the US, but in the meantime, let’s check on that part, the actual part, which is back home. That part, the mental part of the people that they are physically here, but mentally they’re also connected back home. They are also having problems. They are super connected with their beloved ones. They are connected with their relatives, with their friends, that they are suffering from a variety of uncertainties back home. Whether that’s a political uncertainty, whether that’s a social, that’s economical.
I would ask the question back from you and from the people who might watch this gathering in future, can they imagine how Afghans are doing nowadays? A human being in 21st century, they end up in resettlement, they end up in diaspora, and they are just struggling day-to-day life, and they are having a lot of connections and a lot of feelings and a lot of challenges back home. They are still there. They are still fighting. Thank you, Mark.
Mark: I love that challenge for us to remember and to imagine. That is the heart of an immigrant, is being in two places. Thank you, brother. Shola, how about you? What are you hearing from your loved ones? What is in their hearts? Help us understand the challenges and the realities people are facing.
Shola: First of all, I want to say thank you for having me here, and I’m very honored and grateful to have this opportunity to speak today with you. As Muzhgan and Ajmal mentioned regarding the challenges still facing today here in Afghanistan. After two years, it’s incredibly difficult for all of us to see that the situation back in Afghanistan has not changed at all. Afghans today, including me, are still grieving the loss of their homeland, but still resilient and hopeful to build their future in the United States. There are many challenges Afghan face today.
A challenge Afghan face is fleeing, misunderstanding and learning to navigate a new world. Afghans who arrive in the United States are starting from zero, including those who were doctors, engineers, lawyers. We have all been separated from our childhood friends, brothers, sisters, parents, and now focus has shifted to how we can rebuild ourselves again here. There are many cultural shocks and financial struggles that are hard to adjust to. Afghan people, they feel alone and need support system from outside the community also.
Recently, one of my sisters arrived to the United States. The first time after we say hello to each other and as she gave me her time, “I want to just pray for God, I arrive safe here and my kids have a good future here.” The people are unfortunately still hopeless. There’s no hope at all.
Mark: I want to make space to hold that. That is hard to hear. Thank you for opening your heart to us on that.
Shola: Thank you.
Mark: Anna, how about you? What would you add to the conversation?
Anna: I feel like I should start by saying that I feel slightly daunted. I’m very honored to be the only non-Afghan person speaking on the panel. I don’t want to by any means undermine anything that my Afghan colleagues are saying by the things that I say. I guess what I can try to do is represent the voices of the Afghans that I’ve met who are still in Afghanistan and try to provide a perspective from what I know from them. You mentioned how are people feeling and what are the challenges that they’re facing. I think as I talk to some of my Afghan colleagues, there’s definitely, I agree with Shola, a sense of hopelessness and a sense of uncertainty about what the future might bring.
Many people are concerned for the future of their children and what life in Afghanistan will be like for them. I think for many people, there’s a sense of resignation. There are lots of people who would like to leave Afghanistan still but are not able to. The processes to leave Afghanistan are not easy. They involve spending more than a year in a third country where you have no means of financial support. Also then at the end of that, potentially not qualifying for refugee status. Although there are many people who would like to leave, many people are conscious that it’s not likely to be possible for them.
At the same time, I think it is fair to say that at least for some people, there’s a sense that at least there is more security than there was before. Actually, the security situation is better than it used to be in most parts of Afghanistan. There’s less fighting and conflict than there was. At least that’s one positive thing. I think for many people, that’s the one thing that they can hold on to. Life is not good, but at least we feel a bit safer than we did before. I think the exclusion of women and particularly the lack of opportunity for education for girls and families is a huge concern to people. Even amongst the Taliban regime, there’s not everybody that agrees with women not being educated.
I think there’s widespread concern about that among a lot of the population. That contributes to the sense of what’s the future going to hold for my family. As has already been said, the economic situation is really difficult. For a lot of people, especially in rural areas, just the daily struggle to survive actually takes up a lot of time and energy. I think it’s also worth saying that there are other factors also of concern to people. Climate change has been having a big impact on Afghanistan. We’ve already had a couple of years in the last few years where there’s been very serious droughts.
This winter is also predicted that there’ll be less precipitation than normal, and so there’s the fear that there may be more drought next year. It’s not just the political situation, but also the lack of opportunities and the difficulty of making a living and having a good life for your family in the place where you are, which I think is also a big weight for people to carry.
Mark: Thank you for sharing that. I appreciate that. I appreciate that you pointed out, in spite of all of these crises and the temptation towards hopelessness and resignation that exists, there are rays of hope. Although the situation for the people remains very tenuous, perhaps there are small ways in which we can see things improving or stories of change or possibility. I’m just wondering, holding in deep tension with all that you all have shared, not to gloss over those realities because those are real and there’s not a simple solution to them, at least that we can see right now.
I wonder if you could share any words of hope or rays of light, stories of what you have seen emerging, even as the situation in Afghanistan remains very difficult. Muzhgan?
Muzhgan: I think having a clear goal and working hard is what brought me all the way here. Once I came to the United States, I started over. I started and finished my ESL, started working night shift at Amazon Fulfillment Center while I was raising my three-month-old daughter and taking care of the home. My husband used to work a full-time job and he also drove for Uber and Lyft on the weekends. All that hard work and tough time paid off. I met kind and big-hearted people. I met people here in World Relief Spokane. My manager, Melissa, she’s not just a manager, she’s my leader. I got a job as a community ambassador.
Now I have a job at World Relief that I love. My daughter goes to daycare and my husband has a full-time job and goes to school. I would say I keep counting my blessings. Thank you.
Mark: I love that. Thank you for sharing just a glimpse of your story. I so long to see more of this across the United States, across the world, for people, churches, families to open their hearts and lives to others like yourself. To see you now giving that love and welcome back to your community and to our nation as well and to others who have faced similar circumstances, I’m so delighted. That is definitely a ray of hope.
Muzhgan: Thank you, Mark.
Mark: Thank you, Muzhgan. What about you, Ajmal? What would you add?
Ajmal: I would say that I see the hope in Afghan children. I can say that in the second generation. I see the hope on the Afghan adults, although they are struggling in day-to-day life. I see a big hope on Afghan diaspora all over the world. I see how kids are mastering with the new lifestyle in my city or I can say in the U.S. overall. I see that how kids are mastering with various languages and I see how they are picking [up] quickly the skills. These things somehow give me and my friends and my family a big hope that a big change is on the way.
On the top of that, I see how Afghan adults are trying their best to learn new skills in the U.S. Although they are super engaged mentally, but they are doing their best. Even nowadays, I’m seeing how they are starting their own small businesses. They are learning professional expertise. Moreover, I see that Afghan diaspora all over the world, they are advocating for Afghanistan. They are trying to have the global attention toward Afghanistan. When I see the kids, when I see the adults, and when I see the Afghan diaspora all over the world, that they are doing advocacy, non-stop advocacy, of course, I feel like a big change is on the way.
I hope that it will happen sooner or later and we will see [again the] Afghan flag shining in capital city, Kabul. Thank you.
Mark: What a beautiful thing to remember, brother. The diaspora of peoples around the world. Though that has been a difficult story, remembering that you’re not alone. There are so many people who have that longing to see restoration. Thank you. We’re with you. Shola?
Shola: I also want to say regarding the hope. Although Afghans in the U.S. miss their homeland, they also appreciate the right and the gift of America. I’m always saying that the first generation is always sacrificing their life to the second generation to build their life. Of course, we can also improve ourselves or adjust our life also. Still, it is very difficult, very hard. The hope is for [the] future, for the kids. They have a good education and bright future. I’m thinking that is the hope we have for [the] next generation. They build their life here.
In Afghanistan, women are killed for what is basic rights in the United States. From the freedom of speech, the freedom to choose what [they] want to wear and the opportunity to go to the school is very special to us. The Afghans here have hope for their future. I just mentioned in the U.S., however, the people back home have no hope and no future in this moment. Unfortunately, I repeat my question again.
Mark: Thank you for sharing that. Thank you for sharing what’s in your heart.
Shona: Thank you. Also, I want to add some other thing regarding all Afghans want to — if there’s hope to come, all Afghans want to change the regime to where all Afghans from different ethnic group can live in peace and freedom. The people hope that the United States review the policy with Afghanistan and the outside nations step in and help empower the Afghan people and women from all different ethnic groups. In that time, we can see some hope there.
Mark: Thank you for that charge. Appreciate that. Thank you, Shola.
Shola: Thank you.
Mark: Anna, what would you add as well from where you’re sitting?
Anna: It’s a difficult question. Like I mentioned before, I think I find some hope in the fact that at least there’s not as many people dying because of explosions. There’s better security than there was. For us as a humanitarian organization, that means that we’re able to reach communities with assistance who really were not possible to reach before because of the insecurity. I find hope in the fact that we can bring help to people that haven’t been able to have help before.
I find hope in seeing the women in our team who do still work in Afghanistan, and because we’re doing health and nutrition programming and running health centers, we are able to have female doctors and nurses who work in those health centers. They are in a really difficult situation. They have so many things to deal with, but they come to work with joy and throw themselves into that work. The way that they support the fellow women that they meet in the clinics and the way that they treat them with dignity and the way that they persevere in spite of the obstacles, that really gives me hope.
Then finally, I guess, without by any means wanting to criticize those who have left Afghanistan, I know everybody who leaves has reasons, good reasons, for doing so. I guess I find hope in that I know a few Afghans who have opportunities to leave and have chosen to stay. I think that was a really hard decision for them to make. I guess there’s hope in the fact that there are people who want to still be there and still be trying to change things from the inside, perhaps. That also gives me hope that they’ve made those difficult choices.
Mark: I love that. Thank you for saying that because I think it’s always a tension. Like Ajmal shared earlier, our hearts often in this work are crossing borders, having cross-cultural families. I’m married to a woman who’s an immigrant from another country as well. Our lives, our hearts, our longings are in two places. Our children are from both, but neither. [chuckles] I’m sorry, I’m going off script here, but it touches deep parts of you. I think we all have a unique role to play in this work of restoration and wanting to see peace and justice done.
Thank you for sharing those bits of what hope might look like from the next generation, from those who are part of the diaspora, from those who are resettling, from those who have chosen to stay, from all places. We’re just longing for peace and flourishing to come to the nation again. Thank you all for sharing those examples of hope. I wonder now, with everything that’s been said and shared, the deep pain and longing, and also the glimmers of hope, what would you say to those on this call, to those who are listening, whether we are spiritual leaders or just people of influence in our communities or in our church congregations across the United States, across the world?
What is the most important thing that we should do right now to support Afghanistan and its people? If you could leave us with one top recommendation, what should we do? Muzhgan.
Muzhgan: First of all, I would say thank you. A big thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for helping us. I know and I see how World Relief has a positive impact on our community that without your help and support, it won’t be this easy. Everything from welcoming the newcomers to the airport to getting them their first grocery, teaching them how to use bus transportation, registering their children to schools, registering the adults to ESL classes, providing them computer classes, computer electric classes, the driving classes. All of these are so essential and they are needed and appreciated by our communities.
I would say to help people in Afghanistan be the voice of those who don’t have their own voice or they cannot raise their voice for their rights. Especially Afghan girls are banned from all aspects of social life in Afghanistan. They are not allowed to go to school after grade six, not allowed to work, not allowed to go to hair salons, even not allowed to go to parks. They need your help and they need it now. Thank you.
Mark: Thank you for that challenge. I’m with you. Thank you, Muzhgan, so much.
Muzhgan: Thank you, Mark.
Mark: Ajmal, what would you say, what would be your top recommendation for churches, community members around the United States, what should we do? I’m sorry, I think you’re on mute. You were going. We want to hear…
Ajmal: I’m sorry.
Mark: There you go.
Ajmal: Mark, it’s pretty common to see the public message toward the leaders, toward the influential figures with the criticism, with the negativity. As Muzhgan started an approach with a positive message, I would also follow her and I would start my message toward the leaders with a positive sign. I would say, Afghans are deeply grateful for whatever welfare assistance that they are receiving nowadays in different cities of the U.S. or I can say different states. They are absolutely blessed with this assistance.
The only thing at the end of the day, I feel like although they receive good assistance, they receive good welfare support, but sometimes I feel like they are still feeling homesick. They are feeling that something is incomplete in their life. I believe for completing that missing portion, we need to have more cross-cultural programs for Afghan communities in order to find and to feel a more deep understanding about the U.S. Actually, I wouldn’t say this only for Afghans. I would say for both parties, Afghans and even our American friends.
We need to have more cross-cultural programs. On the top of that, as Muzhgan mentioned, every Afghan has a story and they just need a proper platform. They just need a proper path to share their stories, to let them raise their voice. At the end, let’s not forget that those stories one day will make history. Let them share their stories. Have them share their thoughts. They have many good experiences. They have many good emotions to share. Of course, those emotions are always positive. Thank you, Mark.
Mark: Thank you, brother. It’s a good reminder. Sharing our stories together in a safe and supportive community is a healing journey for both sides. I really believe that too. Thank you. Shola, what would you add? What should we do now?
Shola: As Muzhgan and Ajmal said, regarding the connection, the sharing, the exchanging the culture with the community or in a partnership, someone like a volunteer come to individuals, family, to be close friends, to help them. Most of women and family, they are still not driving and they have a lot of medical problems and doctor appointment, all this one. They need someone to be a very close connection and relationship with them to help them. Also, I want the leader who is on this call or who is listening, please educate yourself about the history in politics in Afghanistan by reading books or watching videos.
It can help you better understand the situation today and how the Taliban regained power again and the U.S. involvement. Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world. The only country in the world to ban girls from attending to the school. There are people who are still left behind and without embassy closed and the neighboring country also deporting people back. Their lives are gravely in danger. Please advocacy and advocate for these people. Your part is crucial because you have empowered the voices that have been silent or ignored. That is, please advocate for these people in Afghanistan, they’re left still behind.
Mark: Yes, I totally agree, Shola. Thank you. I’m going to share some tools in just a moment about how you can take practical steps toward learning and advocacy if anyone listening is interested. Thank you for saying that so directly. Anna, how about you? What recommendations would you have? I know you’re not in the United States like the rest of us, but from where you sit, it’s really a valuable perspective. It’s focusing on people who are still in Afghanistan. What would you say leaders across the country, across the world, should be considering as they look at all that we’ve shared?
Anna: I thought about that and I thought of a few things. You mentioned spiritual leaders. The first thing I think I would say to people of faith who might be listening is pray for Afghanistan, pray for people to be able to hold onto hope because, without hope, life is really difficult. I think praying for hope is always an important thing that we can do. I think that’s something that anybody can do wherever they are. A second thing I would say, perhaps more focused on the situation in Afghanistan itself, is that there are many people who are still in need of very basic things.
There are organizations who are working to help. I think sometimes in the political debates, the message isn’t very nuanced and some of the arguments that are being made politically are in danger of depriving average Afghans of the assistance that they need. Try to educate yourself about some of the things that are being discussed rather than just going with the polemics. Try to make sure that ordinary Afghans aren’t suffering because of political decisions that are made. Then I really agree with the things that my Afghan colleagues have said just in general about welcoming strangers where you are.
I think we need to step outside of our comfort zones and actually build connections with people. Don’t just smile at somebody and say hello, but take an interest. Ask them to tell you about their culture. Ask them about the foods they eat, what would be normal in their family. I think people come alive when they can talk about something which is close to their hearts and which comes from the culture that they love. Often when people have been uprooted from their culture, they don’t have the same opportunity to share that with people.
Taking the chance to learn and to enrich ourselves by learning about another culture, I think it’s beneficial to us, but I think it’s also really helpful to people who are struggling to find their place in a new culture and trying to unite those two parts of themselves that Ajmal mentioned that can feel very torn apart and divided.
Mark: I love that. Good words, Anna. Thank you for sharing that with us. As we close, I just want to say to those who are listening, thank you again for being here with us and for taking the time to listen and reflect. Your support matters to us. You matter to World Relief, to our Afghan friends around the world. I just want to share some practical ways that you can take next steps as well. Like Shola said, if you are moved towards advocating for Afghans, I want to encourage you to reach out in the U.S. to your congressperson and tell them that you support what is called the Afghan Adjustment Act.
This is a bipartisan bill that was introduced in Congress. It acknowledges the plight of Afghan nationals who faced the threat of persecution and were paroled to the United States after the Taliban takeover. Many of whom have worked tirelessly alongside the U.S. in the military, diplomatic missions and NGOs risking their lives to support the cause of peace and stability in the world. We have a responsibility to these people and to speak the truth to our leadership about these individuals who are in danger. They’ve been our allies and partners in promoting freedom and justice and human dignity.
We’re thankful that they’ve found refuge in the United States, but some still only have temporary legal protections right now. Scripture is clear for believers and church leaders about our role to embody compassion and justice towards those in need. Since the fall of Kabul, churches and organizations around the United States, like you’ve heard today, volunteers and community members have given very generously of their time and resources to welcome Afghans. We need to provide them also with a clear pathway toward permanent legal status. It’s the right thing to do. It’s the moral and ethical choice. I really believe that. World Relief believes that.
Let me just share my screen here. If you go to — sorry, this is a little scrappy of me to do, but if you go to worldrelief.org/advocate, you can see where you can advocate for Afghans in need here. It explains more about the Afghan Adjustment Act, how you can contact your local representative. It’s an easy tool here for you to edit and adapt this communication to share why you support the Afghan Adjustment Act and ensuring that vulnerable Afghans have the support and status they need to build a secure life.
Also, like was mentioned by our panelists, if you want to learn more about Afghanistan and the beautiful history and culture of this place that our country has now a history with, if you are interested in, or maybe you’re already welcoming new Afghan friends, World Relief has this culture guide that you can find at worldrelief.thinkific.com/courses/afghan-culture-guide, where you can learn all about it from Afghan friends. The ones on this call are not in the course, but other Afghan friends and partners with World Relief that share about the culture context of Afghanistan, its people, the past, like Shola also encouraged us, the present systems and religion and faith within the country.
Cultural values and how those compare and contrast with some of our own, friendship. There’s all kinds of really interesting paradigms in this cultural guide. Normally, World Relief sells it for $49. For anyone listening today, we want to offer this for free to you for the rest of this year in honor of the three-year commemoration. If you go and enter in a coupon code here, you can enter in cultureguide24 for 100% off. Anyone you would like can take this course for free to learn about Afghan culture and its people. Now, if you want to go even deeper, we also have another opportunity for you.
You might say, “We are ready to welcome.” We want to invite you to form a good neighbor team anywhere in the United States. Whether you are near one of our field offices or anywhere else, we want to invite you to form a good neighbor team, a group of 6, 8, 10 people who says yes to walking alongside a newly arriving immigrant or refugee family for 6 to 12 months, providing tangible care and friendship to them. This website at worldrelief.org/good-neighbor-teams will show you some videos and examples of what it looks like.
We will coach you and walk alongside you every step of the way. It used to be that you could only do this if you were near one of our office locations. Now we have the capacity to coach you and walk with you virtually no matter what state you’re in. Would you consider potentially this being the year that your church says, “Maybe instead of investing in a missions trip or going to another country or doing something externally, maybe we’re ready to receive the blessing of mutual friendship and welcome”?
It goes both ways. The hard and beautiful work of welcome is also formative to us. I think you all can see from the people that we have had the privilege of hearing from on this call today, they add so much value and beauty to our communities. We are so glad you’re here, and we look forward to walking with you wherever you are in your church on your discipleship journey towards learning and growing and towards welcome.
Actually, another thing I want to say about that, too, is that we have some special funding available for veterans who want to engage in this work. U.S. military veterans understand the toll that conflict takes on people and on places. Because of that, we have some special grant funding for veterans who want to get involved in forming a good neighbor team and providing welcome just from a special grant that was given to World Relief. Please reach out and contact us for more information about that, if anyone you know might be interested.
Panelists, I just want to thank you so much for your time. Shola, Ajmal, Muzhgan, Anna, thank you for sharing your life, your expertise, your hearts with us today. Just a glimpse, I know, of a long story, but we’re so grateful. Please know we stand with you in solidarity. We wait for the day when God brings full peace and healing to the world, and our hearts are with you. Thank you so much again.
Shona: My pleasure. Thank you so much for having us today.
Muzhgan: Thank you, Mark.
Ajmal: Thank you, Mark.