Anonymous wrote:I tried to donate barely used/freshly laundered linens and the drop off site set up for the refugees in dc would only take new things. What a waste. Happy to help but they are getting picky.

Yes, thankfully most of the volunteer efforts have been so inundated with people wanting to donate this cause that they can afford to be quite picky. Not sure why it’s an issue for you that they have sufficient supplies to give the refugees new linens instead of your second hand offerings.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are they the people who helped the American government during this 20y war or just regular people who want out of the new Taliban government?

Also, are they staying here or are they going to be moved throughout the country?

Conservative here. I have a close friend who is helping with the effort. She assured me that they are all vetted in multiple checkpoints throughout the airport and indeed are definitely those that helped us. She's in cybersecurity.

She also (disturbingly) told me that there are very few Americans among them and that those Americans have 90 days to pay back all evacuation expenses while Afghanis are getting $1200 per person in the family, housing, food, clothing, furniture etc.

Did she also tell you that those Americans are private citizens (obviously not essential military/government personnel) who went to Afghanistan of their own volition and ignored numerous prior warnings to leave the country, thus putting our service people at risk to safely get them out? I’m confused as to why you as a self described conservative would find it disturbing that these individuals are expected to pay their own evacuation costs rather than putting the burden on the American taxpayer? Or is your issue that the vetted Afghanis, who regularly risked their lives to help US personnel on the ground, are being given a whopping $1200 and some second hand household goods to attempt to completely rebuild their lives after we decided to abandon the effort.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those of you calling OP a troll vastly underestimate how UMC parents freak out over the thought of their kids being around poor/non Asian POC. Go read threads in the school forums. The only acceptable public schools are mostly white and Asian UMC ones. Support refugees, BLM, and immigrants? Sure yeah but not in my kids’ school!

I agree with a lot of this, but it's a little weird to call Afghanis "non Asian POC's". What continent do you think Afghanistan is on?

DP.. most people would consider them ME Muslims because that's what they look like. It's not about the continent where you are from, but what you look like. And of course, they don't like Muslims.

For reference, Middle East refers to the (non-European) countries which used to be part of the Ottoman Empire + Iran. Afghanistan is Central Asia, though it is sometimes lumped in with South Asia for strategic reasons.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is many are relocating to this area. Why OP?

I am worried about schools, FCPS specifically. Maybe the number of refugees is not that high, but for the amount of posts asking for donations on my Facebook page and nextdoor, Iam worried about the impact on FCPS resources - class size, ESOL, etc.

Send your kids to a sh#tty fly-by-right evangelical private school if you’re so concerned. There’s plenty of Liberty U feeders all over VA.

The Afghan kids are more likely to go to a religious school.

There are a lot of Afghanis who are about as religious as your average go-to-church-at-Christmas-and-Easter Catholic and they were more likely to have support the Americans in Afghanistan and to suffer the most under Taliban rule.

Anonymous wrote:I tried to donate barely used/freshly laundered linens and the drop off site set up for the refugees in dc would only take new things. What a waste. Happy to help but they are getting picky.

They don't want your trash. IMAGINE THAT!!!!! Why in the hell would you assume that they would take your used linens in the middle of the freaking pandemic???

Anonymous wrote:I've never said something like this before, but I don't care if they crowd schools here. It's 100% our fault they are in this mess, and I feel very badly for the ones who cannot escape. Today, the Taliban said no more Afghan citizens will be allowed to go to the airport or leave. And reports I have seen about what might happen to our allies on lists there are frightful.

Yup.

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Anonymous wrote:Don’t worry op. From the charities I work with that are helping resettle families, they have housing in manassas and woodbridge. They will take the jobs that Americans don’t want for $17/hour and be thankful that their lives have been spared.

As long as they embrace American values it works.

which values are those?

Judging by the flags we fly at embassies: gay pride and BLM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is many are relocating to this area. Why OP?

I am worried about schools, FCPS specifically. Maybe the number of refugees is not that high, but for the amount of posts asking for donations on my Facebook page and nextdoor, Iam worried about the impact on FCPS resources - class size, ESOL, etc.

If this isn't the northern Virginia suburban mindset in a nutshell. Likely to consider yourself rich and liberal but desperately guarding your slice of the resource pie and viewing any brown person as a threat to your children.

It's all ME ME ME. All the time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is many are relocating to this area. Why OP?

I am worried about schools, FCPS specifically. Maybe the number of refugees is not that high, but for the amount of posts asking for donations on my Facebook page and nextdoor, Iam worried about the impact on FCPS resources - class size, ESOL, etc.

Oh goodness. Seriously? They are being sent to other locations and most would be a boon to any community — perhaps people like you might discover the act of EMPATHY and COMPASSION

Happy to have them relocate here. Have some compassion. If you want to walk in another person's shoes - specifically refugees such as these (and learn something about our refugee system) please read After the Last Border - Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America by Jessica Goudeau. It's fantastic.

Anonymous wrote:Is there somewhere in Montgomery county that is taking donations of clean, used clothing, household items in great condition? A nonprofit or maybe a house of worship?

someone on nextdoor posted that they are collecting for Lutheran Social Services.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t worry op. From the charities I work with that are helping resettle families, they have housing in manassas and woodbridge. They will take the jobs that Americans don’t want for $17/hour and be thankful that their lives have been spared.

As long as they embrace American values it works.

which values are those?

Is there somewhere in Montgomery county that is taking donations of clean, used clothing, household items in great condition? A nonprofit or maybe a house of worship?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those of you calling OP a troll vastly underestimate how UMC parents freak out over the thought of their kids being around poor/non Asian POC. Go read threads in the school forums. The only acceptable public schools are mostly white and Asian UMC ones. Support refugees, BLM, and immigrants? Sure yeah but not in my kids’ school!

I agree with a lot of this, but it's a little weird to call Afghanis "non Asian POC's". What continent do you think Afghanistan is on?

DP.. most people would consider them ME Muslims because that's what they look like. It's not about the continent where you are from, but what you look like. And of course, they don't like Muslims.

I tried to donate barely used/freshly laundered linens and the drop off site set up for the refugees in dc would only take new things. What a waste. Happy to help but they are getting picky.

Refugees are settled in groups across the country by the state department working with non profits. A newspaper article I read yesterday said approximately 10% will be settled in the state of Virginia and the rest moved out to different spots across the country. So probably 10 different locations? It’s totally a different process than the people that walk in over the border who don’t go through the refugee resettlement process.