Despite everything, Americans are stepping up to help Afghan refugees

For months after the painful U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, I tried to find some substantive way to aid Afghan refugee families in the United States — particularly in Northern Virginia, where I live. A couple of weeks ago, a friend introduced me to the Immigrant and Refugee Outreach Center in McLean. IROC, in turn, introduced me to a newly arrived family of seven — siblings and in-laws, aged 14 to 30, the proud owners of five chairs and three beds. Almost no English. An apartment rented by a family acquaintance, they told me, but there was no lease in evidence. No phones, no computers, no blankets, no coats, no boots, no sneakers, and no pots, pans, or food (friends were bringing them meals).