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Transcript/Script
USAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Vietnamese Assisting Afghan Refugees
HEADLINE: Seeing similarity to the fall of Saigon, group fills government void
TEASER: Washington Alliance offers housing, job counseling and education assistance for Afghan refugees.
PUBLISHED: 5/24/2022 at 8:35AM
BYLINE: Carolyn Presutti
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Seattle, Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: Saqib Ul Islam
VIDEO EDITOR: Saqib Ul Islam
SCRIPT EDITORS: Newhouse, MPage
VIDEO SOURCE (S): All Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _X_ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 2:35
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ***THERE IS A WEB COMPANION PIECE WITH PHOTOS ))
((INTRO))
[[Thousands of Afghan refugees are now living in America, struggling after receiving limited government assistance. One Vietnamese woman who knows the challenge of providing for a family in an unfamiliar country is helping the new arrivals in Seattle, Washington. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti shows us how.]]
((NARRATOR))
((nat montage))
Ismail Khan chooses supplies for another family in need.
[[RADIO TRACK: Former Afghan refugee Ismail Khan explains where he’s carrying these many boxes of supplies --- from potato chips to diapers.]]
((sot Khan covered))
“She is a widow with eight kids.”
((nat))
((NARRATOR))
Government resettling agencies provide direct assistance with the basics, at first.
((sot Khan covered))
“The dad died in a suicide bomb.”
((NARRATOR))
Then Afghan evacuees turn to state and local independent programs.
That’s when Mina Le and Ismail Khan step in with the Afghans of Puget Sound Alliance.
((Courtesy: Mina Le))
Le’s family of 11 arrived in the United States more than four decades ago, after the end of the Vietnam War.
((nat of fundraiser))
((NARRATOR))
Now, more than a generation later, she’s helping Afghan families.
((Mina Le, Afghans of Puget Sound Alliance))
“I knew nothing about Afghanistan — but of course, the fall of Kabul with the pictures of the people being evacuated through airplanes, it was exactly the scene in 1975.”
((Nat of circle))
((NARRATOR))
So, she has firsthand experience when counseling people like Israr Mashwani, who is supporting his family with a minimum wage job at Taylor Farms.
((Israr Mashwani, Afghan Refugee)) ((Translated from Pashto))
((photo courtesy: Israr Mashwani))
“I was with the Special Forces in Afghanistan. I moved here, and now I'm cutting vegetables.”
((NARRATOR))
[[RADIO TRACK: The group sits on the floor on a green Afghan carpet, discussing options for five male refugees and sharing hopes and dreams.]]
To move beyond these entry-level jobs, the alliance enrolls Afghans in English classes, then toward certifications in the skills they brought from Afghanistan. They work with local merchants …
((nat grocery store))
((NARRATOR))
… like Sayed Besmellah Razavi, who has hired former Afghan brigade commanders and intelligence officers to stack his shelves
((Sayed Besmellah Razavi, 786 Market Owner))
“We train them that, hey, you have to come on time, and you will have to take breaks.”
((NARRATOR))
Three thousand Afghan refugees now live in Washington state, many admitted under a law permitting humanitarian parole status, but they don’t qualify for permanent residency, leaving their future in limbo. Congressional legislation that could help them — is stalled.
((Ismail Khan, Afghans of Puget Sound Alliance))
“If they don’t pass it in a year or so, you will see many will be homeless.”
((NARRATOR))
[[Radio Track: Wherever the Alliance meets, there are children listening or playing nearby. One of their priorities is to enroll them in school, but language barriers are steep. Like when a 13-year-old walked to his school two days in a row, not knowing why classes were empty. The students were on break.]]
The Alliance also helps get Afghan children into school — but language barriers are steep. Like when a 13-year-old walked to his school two days in a row, wondering why the classrooms were empty. The students were on break.
((nat))
((NARRATOR))
Remember the widow? None of her eight children up to the age of 16 ever attended school in Afghanistan. They can’t read. Just days after these supplies were delivered, they walked into a US classroom for the very first time.
((Carolyn Presutti, VOA News, Seattle, Washington.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMay 24, 2022 09:12 EDT
BylineCarolyn Presutti
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
