CLEVELAND — Amid the crisis in Afghanistan, refugees from the country are beginning to arrive in Cleveland where the resettlement process is underway.
Joe Cimperman, the president of the nonprofit organization Global Cleveland, talked with Spectrum News 1 to discuss how the organization is helping with the effort.
“We are a city that knows how to do this,” Cimperman said.
Global Cleveland working with several other agencies to help pick up the refugees, move them into apartments or houses as well as helping children get into school.
“We know that their take off is really rocky and dramatic. We want to make sure their landing is loving and warm,” Cimperman said.
Before Afghan refugees can come to Cleveland, they get vetted by the government and there’s a lot of paperwork. However, they are in a situation where it’s nearly impossible to get the paperwork done.
To learn more about the situation and the process, watch the full interview above.
As of Thursday, officials confirmed an explosion went off outside the Kabul airport where many Afghans were waiting to find a way out of the country.
In a statement, a Taliban spokesperson condemned the attack at Kabul’s airport in Afghanistan.
“I confirm two explosions in the assembly of people in the area managed by U.S. forces have occurred,” the spokesperson said. “Initial reports say, 13 persons have been killed and 52 wounded. We strongly condemn this gruesome incident and will take every step to bring the culprits to justice.”
A U.S. official said the complex attack was believed to have been carried out by the Islamic State group. The IS affiliate in Afghanistan is far more radical than the Taliban, who recently took control of the country in a lightning blitz and condemned the attack.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby confirmed on Twitter that “a number” of U.S. service members were also killed in the attack.
