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GEORGIANA VINES

Local church members help Afghan refugees resettle in Knoxville | Georgiana Vines

Georgiana Vines
The Knoxville News Sentinel
Bridge Refugee Services volunteer manager Peter Green, left, and Bridge program and human resources manager Monica Harris are helping to coordinate efforts to resettle Afghan refugees in Knoxville.

Some three dozen Afghan refugees are being resettled in Knoxville after fleeing their country after the U.S. left Afghanistan at the end of August and the Taliban took control of Kabul.

They began arriving around Sept. 30, with the latest family of five arriving Nov. 5.

Bridge Refugee Services Inc., which has assisted refugees since 1982, has been designated to handle the Afghans by the Episcopal Migration Ministries, one of nine Afghan Placement and Assistance (APA) resettlement agencies in the country for the U.S. Department of State. Bridge has offices on Whittle Springs Road in Knoxville and in Chattanooga.

“The Afghans are considered humanitarian parolees,” Monica Harris, Bridge’s program and human resources manager, said. Information on the U.S. Department of State’s website says certain Afghan nationals at risk, who are granted humanitarian parole status, are eligible for the department’s APA program. This includes $2,275 provided to the resettlement agency, of which $1,225 is available for critical assistance needs such as housing and basic necessities including food, clothing and furnishings, during the first 30-90 days in the communities. The assistance comes through the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Members of two local churches are greeting the Afghans when they arrive by commercial plane at McGhee Tyson Airport, buying them food and helping them move into homes as they are readied.

Martha Robinson

One local volunteer, Martha Robinson, described the effort ”to show God's love through our actions.”

At the same time, adequate housing is the biggest need for the Afghans as they move into the Knoxville community, Harris said.

The two churches that to date have helped with the Afghans through community assistance teams are Central Baptist Church of Fountain City and St. John XXIII University Parish. Since learning English is required of many refugees, they can take advantage of the Center for English sponsored by a third church, West Lonsdale Baptist Church, said Peter Green, Bridge volunteer manager.

Read more:Biden raises refugee cap to 125,000 for fiscal year 2022

More:Nashville nonprofits launch fund to welcome 300 Afghan refugees

Harris and Green were interviewed on the program on Nov. 5 in a conference room at Bridge’s offices. The conference room was full of new toys and other items for children, particularly stacks of paper diapers. Household items donated to the agency for refugees are kept in a warehouse, they said.

All of the Afghan nationals came to Knoxville from one of eight “safe havens,” all military bases in the United States, Harris said. The State Department’s explanation of the APA Program says the Afghans complete medical screening and apply for work authorization while on the bases and then are matched with a resettlement agency in local communities across the country.

Tim Burchett

The refugees’ transition to communities is being done entirely by the U.S. administration, and congressional members do not have a role. However, U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, offered a statement to this columnist:

"My office does not have a role to play in the relocation or resettlement of Afghan refugees. However, during the chaos of the American withdrawal we were contacted by several East Tennesseans who served in Afghanistan or who worked with international nonprofits and who were concerned about the well being of Afghans who helped support the U.S.-led effort in that country. In many cities, the Taliban was going door-to-door seeking American sympathizers, and our team was able to help several of these individuals evacuate the country as they fled what truly was a life-or-death situation. My team worked long hours to help this urgent situation, and I am proud of their efforts."

It is unknown whether any of the refugees who have come to Knoxville were in the group that Burchett’s office helped. Some of those who came have a military tie with someone who lives here, Harris said. The first to arrive was an individual with most of the others coming as families.

When the refugees arrive, they first stay in Airbnbs until other housing is found, although the latest family to arrive had to stay in a hotel with a kitchen because an Airbnb could not be obtained, Harris said.

She said part of Bridge’s work is searching for Airbnbs to accommodate the refugees. The national Airbnb organization has agreed to assist with this program and waives its fees although “remaining fees that go to the hosts are the same,” Harris said in an email, as a follow-up to the Nov. 5 interview.

Robinson attends Central Baptist of Fountain City and teaches at Coulter Grove Intermediate School in Maryville. “Upon hearing of the work locally of Bridge Refugee Services, I knew this was a way our church family could be involved and make a difference in the lives of those who would be making Knoxville their new home,” she said by email.

Georgiana Vines

“Upon forming a Community Action Team (CAT) through Bridge Refugee Services, our group was matched with two families.  We have partnered with them all along the way to make their transition to East Tennessee as smooth as possible. From picking them up at the airport upon their arrival to providing welcome meals for them, we have endeavored to be the hands and feet of Christ to serve our neighbors. We have stocked their pantry with culturally appropriate items, taken them to the grocery store, secured new clothing appropriate for East Tennessee weather, played soccer with the children – all in an effort to show God's love through our actions.”

Robinson said she came to appreciate the needs and struggles of the refugee population as she has a daughter, Elizabeth Robinson Patton, who practices with Rose Immigration Law in Nashville.

“Bridge is doing incredible work in the East Tennessee area. With the tremendous influx of refugees, they are in need of volunteers,” Robinson said.  

Harris has been with Bridge for seven months, moving here from Dayton, Ohio, where she worked with a refugee resettlement agency that partnered with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. She is the daughter of immigrants from Taiwan and the first in her family to be born in the U.S. Green joined Bridge in July, coming from Memphis, where he recently completed a Ph.D. degree in missions and intercultural studies from the Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.

Harris said the agency presently is helping 90-100 refugees altogether. Between Oct. 1, 2020 and Sept. 30, 2021, Bridge accepted 58 new arrivals not including the Afghans. Most in this group are from the Congo, she said.

Bridge welcomes additional volunteers for its resettlement program, and anyone who has housing that could be used by Afghans also is encouraged to contact Green by email at pgreen@bridgerefugees.org or leave a message at the office, 865-540-1311.

Harris said the Afghans were not available to be interviewed because they weren’t ready to meet with the news media at this time.

Georgiana Vines is a retired News Sentinel associate editor. She may be reached at gvpolitics@hotmail.com.