Kate Troll, right, and Yalda Battori, stand in front of pictures colored by refugee children from Afghanistan at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. Troll recently returned from a two week deployment with the American Red Cross at McCoy, where nearly 13,000 Afghans are awaiting resettlement in the U.S. (Courtesy photo / Kate Troll)

Kate Troll, right, and Yalda Battori, stand in front of pictures colored by refugee children from Afghanistan at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. Troll recently returned from a two week deployment with the American Red Cross at McCoy, where nearly 13,000 Afghans are awaiting resettlement in the U.S. (Courtesy photo / Kate Troll)

‘This is something that unites us all’: Alaskans help refugees resettle

Alaskans help refugees resettle

Refugees evacuated in the last days of the U.S. war in Afghanistan are being resettled across the country, and between September 2021 and March 2022, roughly 100 will be coming to Alaska.

“Most of them will be resettlement with us in Anchorage because it’s closer to where our services are,” said Lisa Aquino, CEO of Catholic Social Services, the local agency that helps with refugee resettlement. “We have one household so far with more coming in the coming months. We’ll get that hundred number over the course of six months.”

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement works with local agencies to coordinated resettlement in various states. Aquino told the Empire in a phone interview Wednesday CSS has helped resettle refugees in Alaska from all over the world.

Refugees with family connections might be resettled in other parts of the state, Aquino said, but most would likely be settled in Anchorage.

Before refugees are resettled they’re sent to military bases where service organizations like the American Red Cross try to help them with supplies and other needs. Juneau resident Kate Troll is a volunteer with the American Red Cross of Alaska and was recently deployed to Fort McCoy. Wisconsin, where she spent two weeks helping to distribute supplies to refugees.

The Washington Post reported there were nearly 13,000 refugees at Fort McCoy, and the Red Cross had set up Community Care Centers on base to distribute supplies, like toiletries, to Afghans. Troll’s station was working with families with young children, she said, and was open for 16 hours a day distributing things like blankets, diapers and baby formula.

Troll, a former City and Borough of Juneau Assembly member, has volunteered with the Red Cross before but said the deployment to Fort McCoy was the most meaningful of her career.

Every day there were thousands of children playing together, she said, some of whom had managed to make swings from the Red Cross blankets.

[Juneau rallies for abortion rights]

“Overall, I found that the people were appreciative and polite,” Troll told the Empire in an interview Wednesday. “These are people that want to get out and start a life.”

Many Afghans had to leave Kabul as quickly as possible, Troll said, and were not able to take much more than the clothes on their backs. Volunteers got requests for underwear, Troll said, which isn’t something the Red Cross typically provides.

Despite the long hours, Troll said the work felt good to help people fulfill their basic needs.

“I have a surgically repaired knee,” Troll said, “My knee would swell but so would my heart.”

Afghan evacuees go through a Department of Homeland Security-coordinated process of security vetting before being admitted, according to the Associated Press, and every evacuee who comes into the United States also goes through health screening. Evacuees who are 12 and older are required to get the COVID-19 vaccination as a term of their humanitarian parolee status after entering the country.

The Biden administration has requested funding from Congress to help resettle 65,000 Afghans in the United States by the end of September and 95,000 by September 2022, AP reported. States with a historically large number of Afghans who resettled in the U.S. over the last 20 years — including California, Maryland, Texas and Virginia — are again welcoming a disproportionate number of evacuees, according to the State Department data obtained by AP. Many gravitate to northern Virginia, the Maryland suburbs of D.C. and northern California — some of the most expensive housing markets in the country.

Aquino said CSS has already received a large show of support from the community, with many local organizations offering services of various kinds. Catholic Social Services has a wishlist of needed items available on their website which can be purchased for the organization.

Though a Catholic organization, Aquino said CSS does not proselytize and there is no religious requirement to receive services.

“This is not about asking anyone to join any house of worship,” Aquino said. “This is something that unites us all, we all come together when we see people in trouble.”

Donations to Catholic Social Services’ refugee program can be made at cssalaska.org.

• Contact reporter Peter Segall at psegall@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SegallJnuEmpire.

More in News

The Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Encore docks in Juneau in October, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Ships in Port for t​​he Week of Sept. 17

Here’s what to expect this week.

Eleven of the 14 candidates seeking four seats on the Juneau Assembly in the Oct. 3 municipal election answer questions during a forum Friday night at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Assembly candidates challenged to offer plan of action, not just talk, at Tlingit and Haida forum

11 of 14 contenders for four seats get extra time to respond to some tough questioning.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly was in full attendance sporting the color pink while conducting a meeting in early July in honor of departing member Carole Triem. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Juneau Assembly attendance report card: Bryson, Hale and Smith get perfect scores

Members talk importance of getting involved during meetings, commitment to long hours.

Rachel Carrillo Barril, chef de cuisine at In Bocca al Lupo, tosses dough for a pizza Tuesday evening. The downtown restaurant was named by the New York Times on Monday as one of “the 50 places in the United States that we’re most excited about right now.” It is the first time a restaurant in Alaska has earned a spot on the annual list that debuted in 2021. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
In Bocca al Lupo named one of top 50 U.S. restaurants by the New York Times

Italian establishment in downtown Juneau is first Alaska eatery to make newspaper’s annual list.

The is a photo of the Juneau School District building in downtown Juneau. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Juneau not among multiple Alaska school districts receiving bomb threats

Alaska State Troopers and FBI are investigating the source of the threat.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Monday, Sept. 18, 2023

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Rows of houses line Douglas Highway in late May. Short-term rental operators in Juneau have until Oct. 8 to register their units with the City and Borough of Juneau before they face a $25 daily fine. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Registration deadline approaching for short-term rental operators in Juneau

As of Monday, 117 units have been registered out of the nearly 600 estimated in the capital city.

Most Read