“Help the Amini Family Buy a Car”

Amini Family

“Dear PoPville,

For the past couple of weeks, however, I’ve started working with the Immigrant and Refugee Outreach Center (IROC)’s New Neighbor Program.

The wonderful family I’ve gotten to meet is the Amini family! A more complete story is below. The short version is they’ve dedicated their life to the dream of making democracy flourish in Afghanistan, and because of that have had to restart their lives in the US in the wake of the Taliban coming to power. They just moved into a small 1 bedroom in Alexandria, VA from one of the temporary camps in Greece a couple of weeks ago, and they could really use a car to both as they find work and manage healthcare visits for both their 18-month-old soon and soon to be born daughter. I’ve started a GoFundMe on their behalf, and would be so grateful if you are in a position to help get the word out.

“Hi, my name is Robert, and I’m fundraising for the Amini Family. Father Obaidullah Amini, Mother Mahnaz Anwari, and their 18-month-old son Ahmad Amini just recently arrived in the United States from Afghanistan, after having spent 6 months in Greece awaiting permission to arrive. The family wanted the opportunities unavailable under the current Taliban Government. Mahnaz especially wanted the freedom to continue to pursue her professional career, which wouldn’t have been possible given the current restrictions on women in Afghanistan. More than that, however, Obaid and Mahnaz wanted those opportunities both for their son and their soon-to-arrive daughter (currently 7 months along).

In Obaid’s own words:
“In Afghanistan my wife and me, worked in the field of small and medium enterprises development. I worked with the US government in USAID projects and my wife worked for the Afghanistan government, working with the Ministry of Economy as Director of Finance, Trade and SME Development.

When the Afghanistan government collapsed, the Taliban starting looking for those who worked for USG and that’s why so many times they came to our house, asking my information from my neighbors, and luckily before they came I was going to some family relatives’ house to hide. Anyhow, after so many attempts, luckily I got my visa to move to Pakistan because Pakistan was the only county who was issuing visas for Afghan people. I moved to Pakistan for a while and then I asked my family to come they also joined me in Pakistan. We spent like 1.5 months in Islamabad. When I was in Islamabad I applied for a Greek visa, after some time I got my visa for myself and my entire family, and we moved to Greece. After some time the US embassy accepted my case transfer and scheduled my interview and medical process and we got our visa to come to the United States.”

They have recently located to Alexandria, Virginia, to be close to other members of Mahnaz’s family in the area. They are seeking employment, but it’s been a challenge looking for work and navigating the medical needs of late-term pregnancy without a car. Help them get that access to transportation!”