Afghan refugees flowing into Mojave stretch local resources

More than 100 Afghan refugees have been resettled in Mojave, and more may be on the way, as part of a national humanitarian response being managed locally by a coalition of nonprofits, local agencies and nongovernmental organizations.

The temporary placement of 20 families has ramped up recently after starting about two years ago, people involved with the effort report. They said the availability of housing in a local mobile home park was part of the reason why the refugees were sent to the desert community of about 4,000 people in eastern Kern.

Their arrival has been met with a combination of compassion and frustration with a shortage of official communication that some residents say has hindered the local response.

Food distribution has so far kept up with demand, workers involved in the effort say, but there remains a need for translators who can relay information as groups work to provide the newcomers with needs ranging from diapers and clothes to housing and education for the Afghan children.

The resettlement work is part of a national effort prompted by the fall of the former Afghan government in August 2021. The number of Afghan immigrants in the U.S. nearly quadrupled to 195,000 in the 12 years ended in 2022, according to the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute.

Special U.S. immigrant visas granted to Afghans more than doubled last year to reach 26,500, according to a February report by the federally funded broadcaster Voice of America. It reported activists' accusations that the Taliban have targeted and detained people in Afghanistan who qualify for the special visas.

The U.S. Department of State reports Afghan refugees are placed in communities across the country to rebuild their lives.

“Factors in the placement of individuals are the presence of U.S.-based family and friends, housing availability, community capacity, and the needs and characteristics of each case,” the department’s website states. It said services delivered to refugees include "cultural orientation, assistance with enrollment in school, English language training, health care, social services, employment training and other benefits as eligible."

On Thursday, about 60 residents gathered at the Mojave Veterans Building on O Street to listen and ask questions after a brief presentation by a consultant to Alpha Miracle Foundation, a Santa Clarita-based nonprofit working to help resettle the refugees. Others involved include state and Kern County government agencies, Community Action Partnership of Kern and the Salvation Army.

Filling in for Alpha Miracle's CEO, consultant Kayla Kelly-Slatten told Thursday's audience that nongovernmental organizations have had to fill gaps in the resettlement process because federal agencies responsible for bringing the families to the United States lack the flexibility the task requires.

Kelly-Slatten acknowledged communication might have been better. She emphasized Alpha Miracle and other groups involved have acted as intermediaries with little decision-making power. The immediate priority, she said, is to meet the needs of refugees so they can live as comfortably as possible within what is for them a foreign culture.

"This is a really big culture shock for these folks," she said.

A county spokeswoman said Friday that Kern's Department of Human Services has provided the Afghans with refugee services funded by the federal government. She noted the agency's work on the Mojave resettlement has put it in touch with the California Department of Social Services and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

"We are doing our duty of responding in the manner ... required," spokeswoman Ally Soper said by email.

County representatives understand the frustrations voiced by Mojave residents and, in response, attended Thursday's meeting to address their questions, Soper wrote. The county has also attended meetings with various agencies involved in the effort, she noted, and is facilitating a working group including residents and participating groups.

CAPK's role has been to offer the refugees food, clothing and diaper assistance from its East Kern Family Resource Center in Mojave.

"Alongside these services, we connect them to all other CAPK and other local partners who provide other forms of assistance," a CAPK spokeswoman said by email.

Kelly-Slatten said over a Zoom video link to Thursday's audience in Mojave all the refugees have visas or temporary asylum in the U.S., having been properly vetted. She urged anyone looking to help the Afghans to reach out to the Mojave Chamber of Commerce, which hosted the meeting.

Many of the questions asked she was unable to answer, including local school officials' requests for information on how many more Afghan children are expected to arrive in the months ahead, which they said will be key to preparing for the next school year.

Some residents asked how they might be of service to the refugees. Others pressed for explanations on why the decision was made to resettle the newcomers in a remote community with no hospital, limited transportation services and a single grocery store.

One man who came to the microphone asked why the federal government had not taken greater responsibility in accommodating the refugees and paying for their expenses, especially given Mojave's limited financial resources and infrastructure.

Kelly-Slatten, emphasizing she did not represent the government and was unable to fully address his concerns, said nongovernmental organizations were doing their best with limited resources. It's a complex challenge requiring the community to pull together, she said.

"All communities need to step up at a certain point," she added.