Urban Wire How Afghans Uplifted Their Community’s Resettlement Needs as Community-Engaged Researchers
Diana Guelespe, Soumita Bose
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Zulikha Akrami, a graduate student at Northeastern Illinois University, engages with attendees during a panel discussion at the "Examining Afghan Evacuees' Resettlement: A Discussion with Local and National Leaders" event hosted by the University of Chicago.

In August 2021, more than 80,000 Afghans were evacuated to the US and resettled as part of Operation Allies Welcome. To better understand how Afghan evacuees were faring a year and a half after their arrival, we began a community-engaged research study, including people with lived experience as experts and decisionmakers.

For our project, six Afghans, most of whom were former refugees and evacuees—Sohila Ahmadzai, Zulikha Akrami, Freshta Alami, Fazlulhaq Fayez, Sayed Milad Fekrat, and Saifullah Haqmal—received training and certification in the protection of human research participants before conducting 36 in-person interviews with Afghan evacuees who arrived in the US shortly after the evacuation. They interviewed participants in private spaces where it was most convenient and comfortable, such as homes and libraries.

On this World Refugee Day, we’re highlighting their work to show how researchers with lived experience are making a difference in their community through research. Incorporating local Afghan field interviewers to our research team, who were native speakers of Dari and Pashto, helped to quickly build trust with research participants and ensure the study was sensitive to cultural norms, language preferences, and any trauma participants had experienced and were still processing. Their professional skills, lived experience, and profound commitment to their community contributed to the project and made it possible to better understand the experiences of Afghan evacuees across three study sites: Chicago, San Antonio, and northern Virginia.

We spoke with five of the field interviewers to highlight lessons that can inform ongoing services for Afghan arrivals and that could translate to future community-engaged efforts. We asked them about their role in the project, the effect the project had on them, and the impact they hope the project will have on the Afghan community. Their experiences are a testament to the unique skills and contributions many refugees possess and the benefits of including them in community-engaged research (PDF). They also echo important lessons about the need to examine resources and policies to address ongoing services for Afghan arrivals and improve the experience for newcomers.

How did your professional skills and identity assist you in your role as a field interviewer?

Zulikha: My personal background as an Afghan woman and a refugee who was born and raised in Afghanistan has provided me with a unique connection to the research target population. Sharing similar experiences of turmoil and displacement, I can empathize with the challenges faced by the interviewees. Additionally, being fluent in their native language and having a deep understanding of Afghan culture has enabled me to establish trust and respect right from the initial stages of engaging with interviewees. This rapport-building facilitated open and honest conversations during the interviews, and in some cases, even transcended the professional realm, leading to genuine friendships with some individuals after the interviews were conducted. 

Saifullah: My motivation to become a field interviewer for the project was driven by a profound commitment to contributing to the understanding and improvement of my community. As an Afghan, I felt a personal responsibility to ensure that the voices of my fellow citizens were accurately represented in the research. My professional skills and experience, particularly my deep understanding of cultural nuances and fluency in local dialects, greatly assisted me in this role. For example, during interviews, my ability to speak the participants’ native languages helped build trust and rapport, resulting in more open and honest communication. 

Has your experience as a field interviewer affected you, your career, or life?

Fayez: It expanded my networking opportunities with professionals and Afghan families. It allowed me to hear the pains that other people have gone through, and I shared my experiences, too. It also created an opportunity for me and my fellow citizens to appreciate that we are here safely and how best we should organize our lives to better help our new society and better welcome future newcomers from different corners of the world. This unique opportunity also connected me to three more companies to do translation, interpretation and facilitation work.

Freshta: To be honest, it was a wonderful opportunity for me. It was my first work experience in the US, but it was a gateway to success because I developed my network and met many people with the help of this project. Afterwards, I attended an internship with the refugee organization which was a community partner of the project for two months. There, I was able to find a job related to my field which changed my life.

Saifullah: It has sharpened my research skills, broadened my perspective on the complexities of social issues, and deepened my commitment to contributing positively to society. I hope that my work on this project will have a lasting impact on the broader Afghan community by informing policies and initiatives that address their needs, ultimately fostering a more informed, inclusive, and equitable society.

Sohila: I appreciate where I’ve come, where I am. It’s a reminder of my old days as a refugee. I know and I understand that it takes time to settle, adjust to a new society, culture, and environment. It takes time to get adjusted in this country and this culture, and basically refugees need more assistance in the first few years to be able to succeed. We should be there for them and help them, not just to bring them in but also help them and make sure they succeed.

What impact do you hope your work on this project will have on the broader Afghan community?

Freshta: I hope that the government processes their cases sooner and brings their family members who are still in danger in Afghanistan. Also, they should run short programs to help Afghans find jobs related to their fields. It does not matter if at the beginning they do an internship or volunteer because I know most of them are working in entry-level jobs that are not in their field. 

Sohila: I’m hoping that the broader Afghan community participates, shares, and volunteers their assistance—whatever extent that we can—to make sure we as a community succeed. In a new environment, new culture, there’s a lot of opportunities. We need to help pull them together, and we need to get them more involved. Anything to help and support in any way we can as volunteers.

Fayez: I believe the analysis of the findings of the research will inform service providers to improve their services and government to take flexible policy approaches to accelerate the legal status of new arrivals from Afghanistan or other countries.

Zulikha: It is my sincere hope that the policy recommendations of this project will be carefully considered in Congress and lead to the passage of bills that will alleviate some of the burdens faced by the Afghan community. My aspiration is that the policy recommendations generated through this project will reach high-level officials and serve as a catalyst for positive change within the Afghan community. By addressing their pressing needs and concerns, we can work towards fostering a more inclusive, supportive, and hopeful future for Afghan refugees in the United States.

Sohila Ahmadzai, Freshta Alami, Zulikha Akrami, Fazlulhaq Fayez, and Saifullah Haqmal contributed to this blog post. Their responses reflect their views.

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Research Areas Immigration
Tags Community engagement Immigrant children, families, and communities Immigrant-serving organizations Refugees and global migration
Policy Centers Income and Benefits Policy Center
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