Refugee Services of Texas closes its doors, leaving many refugees in limbo
FOX7 - Austin, TX
by Angela Shen
May 31, 2023
“After 45 years, Refugee Services of Texas is closing its doors. This leaves many refugees in the dark as they try to navigate life in the U.S.
Nasir Shah Zahid, Mohammad Rasool Farhat, and Ghulam Ali Nasrat were interpreters for the U.S. military. They all came to the U.S. after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
‘I was afraid that if the Taliban arrest me, they could kill me or put me in jail,’ Nasrat said.
Refugee Services of Texas was supposed to help them resettle. However, they all describe an agency that hasn't been of much help, and now that they're closed, they've been left in limbo.
‘I have received some checks from RST, but it's not enough for us,’ Farhat said.
‘I am supposed to get help, but there is not any refugee organization to help me,’ Nasrat said. ‘I've been waiting for four months. I get nothing.’
Zahid says he wants to work and enroll his children in school.
‘Nothing they have given to me, how the things work here,’Zahid said, he said of the agency.
‘It is very difficult without a computer or without Wi-Fi or without anybody to guide these families through the process. There's really no agency or organization that's directly sitting with each family and helping them integrate into American culture,’ Stefanie Grasty, volunteer with Global Impact Initiative, said.”
(includes video)
