According to the U.N. refugee agency, more than 1,000,000 people fled to Poland and Hungary. Millions more could follow.
The most recent refugee influx to the United States was last summer after the fall of Afghanistan. Clarkston, Georgia is one place they were welcomed.
The city has been home to so many refugees over the past four decades that it is now known as “the most diverse mile in America”.
An Afghanistan journalist has been asked to identify himself as Ahmad. He has been listed on multiple Taliban hit lists. He fled with his family to the United States.
You know, we spent our entire lives in Afghanistan. Ahmad’s 20-year old son Aziz told Dana Jacobson, “CBS Saturday Morning” cohost, that his family had many friends in Afghanistan.
The family of six has now moved to Clarkston after spending several months at various U.S. military bases. They have many neighbors, including people from India, Pakistan, Nepal, and the Philippines.
Clarkston is also known as the “Ellis Island of the South”. Clarkston is home to more than half the country’s population. The city covers one square mile and sixty languages.
Inspiritus, an Atlanta-based non-profit, has resettled Ahmad and his family since 1981. Clarkston is home to refugees thanks to ESL classes, grocery stores for ethnic cuisines and easy access to public transportation.
Aimee Zangandou (Director of Refugee and Immigration Services at Inspiritus) stated that “it’s a welcoming place, and it’s continued to be that way for a very long time.”
Inspiritus alone has resettled over 600 Afghan refugees in the past three months. In 2020, the nonprofit had only settled 74 refugees. The Trump administration forced it to reduce its size, which resulted in a cap of 18,000 refugee admissions for fiscal 2020 — the lowest number since Congress adopted the 1980 Refugee Act.
Zangandou stated that “we’re still hiring, looking for resources, we are still gathering communities, partners who have partnered with me before that we want back,”
Clarkston’s open arms are not only for refugees. Kitti Murray, a Georgian native, founded Refuge Coffee in 2017. Over 50 people have been trained and hired by the nonprofit, including Leon Shombana (10 years ago), who fled Congo.
“We are like members of a big family. You can probably say that you are from a large family with a different father but the same mother. Shombana stated that Refuge Coffee is the best.
Clarkston is proud to be a “long-standing welcome” for Shombana residents who have never left. However, it all begins with a place that is more than just a name.
“The people are very kind. They brought everything, including the furniture, mattresses, kitchen appliances, and beds. Ahmad stated that they are helping us greatly and that we are extremely grateful to them.
