Afghan refugees find hope in Maryland

Ten days after the Taliban completely overran Kabul in August 2021, Kareem Salimee received a life-changing phone call.

“Be ready in 10 minutes to leave your house with your family to be evacuated,” a voice on the other end of the line announced.

Having worked as an electrical engineer for U.S. military forces in Afghanistan for six years, Salimee knew all too well that his life and those of his family members were in danger as militant jihadist forces advanced.

He took his wife, Rahima Salimee, and their five children – without being able to say goodbye to extended family and friends – and fled to the airport.

After hours of traffic and street conflicts, the Salimee family made it inside Hamid Karzai International Airport to wait four hours in line under the sun. Their plane took off with 600 other desperate passengers all sitting on the floor with no seatbelts and little food. After 12 hours on the plane, the Salimee family arrived at a U.S. military base in Germany.

“Forty minutes after we left Kabul, there was an explosion at the airport,” said Salimee, referring to the Aug. 26 blast at one of the airport’s gates that killed 183, including 13 American soldiers, and leaving more than 100 injured. “All my family was worried and wondered what had happened to us.”

That’s the moment Salimee realized how blessed he and his family had been to make it out alive.

For Salimee and his family, whose names have been changed in this story at their request, the harrowing escape from Afghanistan was a new lease on life. It’s a journey which has brought them and other refugees to the Archdiocese of Baltimore, where parishioners are providing material and emotional aid in helping them resettle in a new world.

Help from new friends

Kathy Gross, a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist in Columbia and an active member of the Howard County parish’s social justice committee, said Tiffany Nelms, former executive director of Asylee Women Enterprise, asked the committee in mid-January if the parish would be willing to help an Afghan refugee family. The parish has previously worked with AWE by sponsoring a family from Congo.

The family in need was the Salimees, who had arrived in the United States at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., and were transferred to a military base in Fort Pickett, Va., Sept. 1.

The Salimees had applied for the Special Immigrant Visa program for Afghans (SIV), a process that takes time. Because of the urgency of leaving Afghanistan, they were granted humanitarian parole, which allows internationals to enter the United States without a visa under emergency circumstances and lets them enjoy legal status for one to two years.

After being placed in an extended-stay hotel in Linthicum Heights near Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Oct. 15, they eventually transferred to an apartment complex in Elkridge.

“When I arrived at their apartment, there was nothing but a queen mattress and a crib,” Gross remembered.

St. John’s social justice committee is formed by four active members and several volunteers. The committee has divided tasks into categories including transportation, field trips, tutoring and help finding jobs.

“All these things around our house are because of the support of Miss Kathy and her volunteers,” Salimee said, referring to couches, bunk beds, a television, a dining table with chairs and some food items.

The social justice committee made an appeal in the parish bulletin for help, resulting primarily in financial donations. Gross and Susie Weiss of St. John assisted the family with rides to doctor appointments. Marc D’Arcangelis, a parishioner, helped Salimee with his driving test and reviewed his résumé to apply for a job in the electrical engineering field. Another member of St. John’s community, Jamie Barrios, donated a minivan for the family’s transportation.

Gross explained the American school system to the parents and continues serving as a point of contact for the Salimee children’s school, Elkridge Elementary. The children, whose native language is Pashto, require special accommodations, such as a room for prayer at specific times, according to their Muslim faith.

While Kareem Salimee hopes to pursue a master’s degree in electrical engineering, Rahima Salimee hopes to continue her career in Maryland. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and used to be a teacher and principal in Afghanistan.

“Going to school and learning should be a right not only for men, but for women, too,” said Kareem Salimee, lamenting the Taliban prohibition on females going to school and working. “My girls are very intelligent. They were at the top of their class in Afghanistan. I hope they can have high-­quality learning at their school and pursue higher education.”

Ongoing support

The Salimees are not the only refugee family finding support from the Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Some parishes and institutions that have volunteered to furnish apartments for Afghan refugee families and provide mentoring services include Church of the Nativity in Timonium; Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore; the pastorate of St. Anthony of Padua, St. Dominic and Most Precious Blood in Baltimore; St. Ignatius Catholic Community in Mount Vernon; the pastorate of St. Matthew in Northwood and Blessed Sacrament in Baltimore through the Immigration Outreach Service Center; and St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Baltimore.

“We wanted to help ease the lonely feeling of being in a new country with no family or friends,” said Nathalie Piraino, a parishioner of the St. Matthew-Blessed Sacrament pastorate in Baltimore and coordinator for Afghan refugee resettlement at the Immigration Outreach Service Center on the campus of St. Matthew.

Maryam Hossaini, a former Afghan Air Force officer and sergeant who worked with the U.S. military for five years, is rebuilding her life with the help of Piraino and other volunteers. Like Kareem Salimee, she has been granted humanitarian parole status.

“When we left the workplace in Afghanistan, we saw a horrible scene: children and elders were thrown on the roads, no cars could be found, and we could hardly get home out of the crowd after three hours of walking,” Hossaini said. 

It was hard for her to believe that overnight her native country was falling into the hands of a group the whole world called terrorists.

Prior to the Taliban’s takeover, Hossaini’s daily tasks included escorting and supporting military families, especially women. During the night, she went to law school.

“I was not only a military girl, but also a Hazara and Shiite Muslim,” said Hossaini, a Dari native speaker.

The Taliban has a history of genocide against Hazaras and Shiites, she explained, “beheading them and setting their houses on fire.”

“Everyone was trying to leave, and the Taliban did not allow people to get close to the airport – they fired directly at civilians,” she said. “There was no choice, we had to risk our lives.”

It took three days to get inside the airport, she said, noting that she had to navigate shootings, tear gas and water cannons in the streets. The Taliban killed many of her colleagues and classmates. Others remained hidden in Afghanistan, hoping to escape.

One of her brothers, Mohammad Hossaini, was able to escape with her, but not her other two brothers, one of whom is currently cared for by an uncle in Afghanistan. Six years ago, their other brother, who was an officer of the Afghan National Army, was stationed at a battalion in Helmand when they lost contact. They don’t know whether he is dead or alive.  

When they fled Afghanistan, the Hossainis were unable to take any belongings except the clothes they were wearing and a bag with their documents. Their plane took them to a U.S. military base in Qatar where officers scanned their fingerprints and performed other immigration protocols.

They arrived at a military base in New Mexico and were later moved to an extended-stay hotel near BWI. That’s where Hossaini met Susan Griisser, a parishioner of St. Pius X in Rodgers Forge. Griisser helped the Hossaini siblings look for job opportunities, find Afghan foods at a halal market, understand American culture and adapt to Baltimore.

Griisser was touched by the dozens of Afghan families staying at extended-stay hotels near BWI. Along with a group of 25 committed Catholics and members of other faiths, Griisser provides food, clothes, rides or anything the refugees need while waiting to be resettled in an apartment.

The kindness of former strangers has not been lost on Maryam Hossaini, who refers to Griisser as “Mom.”

“I found many American friends here,” she said.

Hossaini has hope in America, a place where she has the opportunity to finish her college degree and maybe someday serve in the military or police. Her brother also plans to go back to college in this country and finish his economics degree.

As the Salimee and Hossaini families become part of American society, they are determined to improve their English skills with classes. They also hope to become American citizens and eventually bring their families to the United States from Afghanistan.

After her son died, Griisser and her husband wanted to give out a scholarship, but found a different meaningful way to remember their son by assisting Afghan refugee families. Their contributions are from their personal expenses and they expect nothing in return.

“We all do what we can,” said Griisser, her voice cracking with emotion. “If God puts someone in your path, you’re meant to help them.”

Email Priscila González de Doran at pdoran@CatholicReview.org

Refugee Facts

• Nearly 6 million Afghans have been forcibly displaced from their homes during recent conflict. Of those, 3.5 million are displaced within Afghanistan; 2.6 million are Afghan refugees living in other countries.

• Iran and Pakistan host 85 percent of displaced Afghans – more than 2.2 million registered Afghan refugees in total.

• More than 76,000 Afghan nationals have joined communities across the United States as part of Operation Allies Welcome.

Sources: UN Refugee Agency and Department of Homeland Security

Editor’s Note: This story was updated April 1 to correct the spelling of Nathalie Piraino’s name.

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