MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th October, 2021) The administration of US President Joe Biden is launching a new resettlement program that would allow American veterans with ties to Afghans to bring them to their home cities and help start new lives in the US, former Delaware Governor Jack Markell told CNN.
"This is just an amazing opportunity to, frankly, do what our veterans have been asking us to do, which is provide a safe and dignified welcome to Afghans who served by our side in Afghanistan, and who now want to build their own lives here," Markell, a temporary point person overseeing the Afghan evacuee resettlement effort for the Biden administration, said.
This is the biggest change to the US resettlement program since 1980, CNN said on Saturday, emphasizing that there are currently 55,600 Afghan evacuees at US military bases.
Under the new initiative, groups of five individuals over the age of 18 will be allowed to apply as a so-called sponsor circle for Afghan refugees. They will need to pass background checks and commit to fundraising in order to support evacuees for up to three months, help them with housing, schooling for children, and accessing Federal benefits.
The US military completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of August, in the wake of the Taliban (terrorist movement, banned in Russia) takeover of a large swath of the country, including the capital of Kabul. This ended the West's 20-year military presence in Afghanistan. Fearing reprisals from the militants, more than 3 million Afghans have fled their country since the Taliban takeover.
