Phoenix family stranded in Kabul back in Arizona after help from resettlement workers, U.S. congressman
Gina Palazzo, who teaches sewing to refugees building a new life in Arizona, on the morning of Aug. 16 received a frantic text message through WhatsApp from one of her adult students.
The text message was from a 30-year-old Afghan woman who had been living in Phoenix since 2016 but had returned to Afghanistan in May to visit her aging parents, along with her husband, 37, and the couple's 7-year-old daughter.
The family, all U.S. permanent residents, suddenly had found themselves stranded in Afghanistan following the sudden collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government and the shocking takeover of Kabul a day earlier by the Taliban.
"We are stuck in Afghanistan and we are in danger," the text message said. "Please if you have any way to get us out of here."
Palazzo quickly shared the text message with colleagues at Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest, the nonprofit refugee resettlement agency where she works
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In addition to maintaining daily contact with the woman and her family, the Lutheran Social Services team reached out to U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona
Gallego, along with his staff, worked with the U.S. State Department to relay critical information to U.S. military personnel staffing the gates at the airport in Kabul, including photos of the Phoenix family so that they could be identified at the gates.
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On Thursday, they had a chance to thank the staff of Lutheran Social Services along with Gallego, posing for photos during a meeting at the LSS offices in Phoenix. Palazzo could not attend. Her emails were shared with The Arizona Republic by colleagues who were involved with the rescue: Charlotte Shurtz, a faith and community engagement coordinator, and Jaclyn Taylor, a refugee and immigration services coordinator.
Gallego spent about 30 minutes with the family, who asked that their names not be published out of fear that relatives they left behind in Afghanistan could be targeted by the Taliban.
Source:
Daniel Gonzalez, Arizona Republic