SEATTLE — A local business is trying to raise money to help refugees as tensions over the Afghanistan airlift mission escalate.
Owners of the Kabul restaurant in Wallingford said they're despondent over what's happening and will donate 10% of the money that comes in to help the groups that are working directly with refugees.
They are supporting the work of the Afghan Health Initiative and groups like SCM Medical Missions. “We had to do something,” restaurant owner Yama Khairzada said.
Khairzada’s father immigrated from Afghanistan in the 1970s, and the restaurant felt like they had to reach out to the people coming from there.
SCM Medical Missions has worked with refugees from areas like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan for years.
The group raises money and helps distribute goods to refugees. SCM recently sent out a letter to donors asking for help for Afghan refugees, and they are connecting with those who have already arrived.
Friday, volunteers took household donations to a family in Tukwila who arrived with just a few clothing items for their three daughters.
They have been working alongside other nonprofits and trying to help families with culturally sensitive food items.
This week’s attacks add more trauma to the grief that refugees are feeling. The attacks have made it even harder to connect with loved ones who are still in Afghanistan.
Americans and U.S. allies, including Afghans who helped U.S. forces during the war in Afghanistan, have been fleeing from the now Taliban-controlled country through the Kabul airport ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline.
In the last day or so, the airlift has begun winding down as U.S. allies complete their own evacuation mission.
A protest is planned in Seattle Saturday in solidarity with Afghanistan and those fleeing the Taliban rule.