Inside the 40-acre Virginia center that’s the first stop in the U.S. for thousands of Afghan refugees
After receiving initial welcoming remarks in the conference room, evacuees move to an intake room for paperwork. The room is plastered with pictures of puppies, unicorns, U.S. flags, Spider-Man, and Afghanistan maps colored by children, then taped to the wall, as they’ve waited for officials to collect their parents’ signatures and biometrics.
It’s not a detention center; evacuees can leave anytime. But once they go they can’t return, and they would forfeit many of the benefits due to them from the U.S. government. Kenneth Graf, federal coordinator for the site, said no one has chosen to leave.There’s a supply room with free clothes, shoes and other goods. “Take as much as you need,” says a sign in Pashto and Dari. There’s a library, with mostly English books that can be checked out.
A 26-year-old evacuee whose last name is Wahdat agreed to speak with a reporter in Dari through an interpreter. She declined to give her first name, fearful for the safety of family members still in Afghanistan.Wahdat, who arrived at the center two weeks ago, said she’d done intelligence, human resources and administrative work for the Afghan national army for five years until the government fell.
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