Stories of Afghan Refugees: Hope in Resettlement (YANA Panel)

Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the US evacuated more than 75,000 Afghans to the United States. This is truly a historic effort, second in scale only to the Vietnamese resettlement in the 1970’s and made especially difficult by our dismantled resettlement infrastructure – and housing crunch.

The trauma suffered by the Afghans -- first, life in a war-torn country, abrupt departure, loss of community; and now, unfamiliar language, culture, and future -- all of this is unimaginable for those of us who do not share such lived experience.

Join us for a discussion with Dr. Richard Mollica (Yale Div MAR), Director of the Harvard Program on Refugee Trauma on the importance of storytelling in helping to heal trauma. Learn what the resettlement process is today – and hear the stories of Afghan natives who are working to help their countrymen begin new lives in the U.S.

SPEAKERS:

• Khalil A Arab – SIVs & Allies Program Manager, Combined Arms, Houston TX
• Shabana Basij-Rasikh – President of SOLA (School of Leadership Afghanistan)
• Chris George, Executive Director, IRIS, Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, New Haven, CT
• Richard Mollica, MD, Yale Div MAR - Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma (HPRT) at Massachusetts General Hospital
• Hossna Samadi, IRIS Ambassador
• Dr. Kaveh Khoshnood – Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Yale School of Public Health (moderator)

Speaker bios

Join us for compelling discussions about best practices, trends, and careers in the social impact space.

Thanks for listening to this YANA podcast.  Get more information and resources at yana.community.