Afghan refugees evacuated to US were racist and sexist toward staff helping them, report says
WASHINGTON, DC: A new report from Office of Inspector General has accused Afghan refugees of being racist and unthankful towards US agencies trying to help them in resettlement. It mentioned, “some RA [resident assistant] staff reported experiencing racism and sexism from Afghan clients unaccustomed to the norms of US society."
The report titled, 'Review of Challenges in the Afghan Placement and Assistance Program' stressed on the resettlement of 72,000 Afghans, who were granted parole on humanitarian grounds after the US’ withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The agencies, who are responsible for their resettlement, said that the most significant issues they were facing in the process in the past two years were rapid arrivals and also "inappropriate behavior."
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'Parolees had very high expectations'
The report detailed, "Many parolees had very high expectations and did not understand the role of local affiliates and would become frustrated with services and housing." It stated an example where "several RAs stated that Afghans who had worked with the American military in Afghanistan were reportedly told by their US military colleagues that the US government would give them 'welcome money' when they arrived. Parolees often did receive cash from their per capita funding allotment, however, this amount differed depending on the location of the parolee and the associated costs of living, among other factors."
'Unrealistic expectations among parolees'
"RAs also reported that parolees held unreasonable expectations regarding employment prospects. Afghans who had worked as professionals or held advanced degrees in Afghanistan often believed that they would be set up in positions within their chosen field upon arrival. However, RAs reported that common initial jobs for Afghan parolees included drivers for ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft, airport workers such as luggage handling and food service, security guards, low-level information technology workers such as cell phone assembly or temporary technicians, or warehouse workers such as inventory or stocking," the report explained. It also stated, "The unrealistic expectations among the parolees unmitigated by effective pre-departure or post-arrival cultural orientation training placed further burden on already-pressed local affiliate staff and case managers who had to provide ad-hoc cultural orientation."
Nine groups were involved in the process of resettlement, which was coordinated by the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) and received per capita grants of $2,275, with $1,225 for direct assistance, reports Fox News.
'Some parolees arrived with Covid-19'
Due to which local offices had issues of verbal abuse from Afghans, mostly those who were upset or frustrated by the process. The report described, "Many parolees arrived with mental and physical health issues, including many suffering from critical health issues that required immediate and extensive treatment. Some parolees arrived with Covid-19 or were pregnant or had given birth very recently."
The report concluded that the resettlement was “an unprecedented and demanding effort that presented substantial challenges for the nine RAs that implemented the program. Many of these challenges were structural and outside of the control of PRM, such as the volume and pace of arrivals and the shortages in available housing and were exacerbated by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic."