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Local Houston-area agencies preparing to welcome numerous Afghan refugees
FOX 26 Anchor Rashi Vats spoke with one Houston-area agency that is working to welcome refugees from Afghanistan.
HOUSTON - The Houston area is helping with the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan preparing to welcome anywhere from 1,500 - 2,500 refugees to Houston over the next six months.
A briefing with more than 70 local faith leaders and community members was held Wednesday afternoon to update them on the current situation.
"It’s a very rushed operation and puts pressure on the staff and volunteers. They have to respond quickly. Literally 24 hours and sometimes if we are lucky 36 hours," said Ali Al Sudani with Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston.
RELATED: Afghan refugee shares her story with FOX 26
He says they usually get two weeks to prepare for a refugee, but this humanitarian crisis proves otherwise. The former interpreter helping the British and US government knows what it is like to leave his family and everything he knew to come to America in 2009.
"What I went through and become a target and you are being marked as a collaborator," he said. "You make your decision based on one priority, which is safety."
It was Interfaith Ministries and Houstonians that helped him out, proving community partnership works.
"Honestly I didn’t expect that people are this generous, this friendly, and this welcoming," he said.
There are five Houston-based refugee agencies working together to help the refugees. Click one of the agencies below to visit their website.
-Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston
-Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
-The Alliance
-YMCA International Services
-Refugee Services of Texas (Houston)