Afghan refugees' Milwaukee relocation underway

Work is underway to help thousands of Afghan refugees from Fort McCoy permanently relocate to Milwaukee.

Inside a warehouse along Milwaukee's lakefront, the exact location of which is being kept private for security purposes, donations have been stored since last summer. For the last month and a half, volunteers with the disaster relief organization Team Rubicon have been sorting through boxes upon boxes inside. 

"It can be quite daunting," said Team Rubicon Incident Commander Chase Adams. "From the start of Phase 1 until now, we have handled over a million items."

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Adams oversees the project, part of the massive overall effort to help refugees resettle in Wisconsin. The items were collected by community groups or donated by businesses – including clothes, shoes and pallets of diapers. 

"Many people came here with absolutely nothing," Adams said of the refugees.

Items stored in Milwaukee warehouse for Afghan refugees

In August 2021, Afghans packed the military airport in Kabul, Afghanistan as U.S. troops withdrew from the country and the Taliban took over. More than 8,000 refugees were relocated to Fort McCoy in western Wisconsin for temporary housing. Some of them remain there to this day.

Phase 2 begins now with as many as 6,000 refugees making Wisconsin their permanent home. Once organized and sorted, there is hope that tables and sofas can provide the foundation needed for a fresh start.

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"Our goal is to be here to make the greatest impact possible and help as many people as possible in the most ways we possibly can," said Adams.

Team Rubicon is still in need of donations, and has set up an Amazon wish list

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