More than 50,000 Afghans living on military bases around the U.S. are awaiting resettlement to permanent homes. Their slower-than-expected release means they will have to remain for months in cramped barracks where supplies are often stretched.
The Taliban have been trying to project an image of safety and normalcy since retaking power. But as WSJ’s Sune Rasmussen reports from Kabul, harsh punishments, violence, and a crackdown on basic freedoms are becoming the reality. Photo: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images
Resettlement agencies, which contract with the State Department to help the Afghans, say finding off-base housing is a big challenge. A nationwide housing shortage,, has made it tougher to find landlords to take on potential tenants with no existing income or credit scores. “Some of the places where there are sizable Afghan communities, like in California and northern Virginia, they’re particularly expensive,” said Melanie Nezer, senior vice president of public affairs at HIAS, one of the resettlement agencies. Another challenge resettlement groups face is simply “the sheer numbers of people who arrived at once,” she said. “Normally refugees would come over a slower period of time.
Conditions on the base were difficult at first, Mr. Mohammad said. The tent he was living in didn’t have doors or soundproof dividers between families, and his family had trouble sleeping with the noise. The tents have since been upgraded, and his family now has a clean, more private room, he said.
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