Afghan Refugees in Colorado

Almost a year since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, many refugees from the war-torn country are now resettled in a place they can call home: Aurora, Colorado.

Aurora currently houses the most Afghans, and the International Rescue Committee, also known as the IRC, was responsible for ensuring their smooth resettlement.

The IRC is a nonprofit refugee resettlement agency founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein. It is sponsored by major companies, community members, and the U.S. government. The organization has helped refugees from all over the world, but as of August 2021, the greatest number of refugees that have been resettled were Afghans.

The housing supervisor of the IRC in Denver, Whitney Buckendorf, said: “Since August 2021, the IRC has received over 1,200 refugees from Afghanistan in just Denver.” Buckendorf added, “As of October 1, 2021, an average of 30 Afghan refugees came to the IRC per week.”

These results are very close to the prediction made by Colorado Public Radio (CPR) in September 2021, which previously said that between 1,000 and 2,000 Afghan refugees would resettle in Colorado.

The lives of the refugees — many of whom had served for the former Afghan government — were threatened once the Taliban took control of the capital, Kabul.

An Afghan refugee named Milad said during an interview, “My family and I had a 22-day journey to safety. From Kabul, to Spain, to the capital of the US, to New Mexico, where I was thoroughly checked, and finally reaching Colorado, a safe place I can call home.”

Milad and his family had previously applied for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) to enter the United States. However, after the fall of Kabul, most Afghan refugees like them ended up coming to the U.S. through a humanitarian parole visa, which was put in place for any Afghans whose lives were in danger.

After their arrival in the U.S., the IRC helped families like Milad’s by putting them in an Afghan Placement and Assistance program. They support Afghan families with housing, school, and careers, while also helping work out traumatic experiences and cultural differences that they experience along the way.

After all the hurdles these Afghan refugees had to overcome, the role of organizations such as the IRC and everyday citizens are going to be invaluable as they turn the page to this new chapter of their lives.