An Afghan Family Slowly Adapts to Life in Austin a Year After the Taliban Takeover
KUT 90.5 - Austin’s NPR Station
Maya Fawaz
August 18, 2022
“Twenty-year-old Matiullah Noori huddles next to his brother and father on pastel patterned floor cushions. They’re on FaceTime with Matiullah’s uncle and baby cousin. Speaking Pashto into the phone, they raise their voices, trying to be heard from thousands of miles away.
“The Noori family fled their 14-bedroom home in Afghanistan after the Taliban retook control in August 2021. Matiullah and his 29 relatives were among the 2,659 Afghan evacuees brought to Texas by Refugee Services of Texas, the largest resettlement agency in the state.
“The agency provides local organizations money to help with refugee expenses. However, the program is limited to a refugee’s first three months after arriving in Texas.
Anjum Malik, the executive director of Global Impact Initiative, says that three-month period goes by quickly. Afterwards, families are on their own and have to rely on nonprofits like Malik’s to make ends meet.”
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