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September 23, 2021On a Monday morning in August, Genevieve Schmitt walked onto a military base in Virginia with a bag of peanut butter crackers, water, protein drinks and wet wipes, not sure what she was about to get into. Three days earlier she had been sitting in her office in Tulsa where she works with refugee resettlement for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. She had been asked if she could help the U.S. military process families arriving in the United States from Afghanistan after the dramatic fall of Kabul City.
“I told them on Thursday the 12 of August I would be willing to volunteer in the efforts. On Friday, the 13, they called and said, ‘Pack your bags – you need to be here by Sunday,’” Schmitt said. “They had been receiving flight after flight after flight. We got them to safety and then we tried to fill in the blanks to help them be successful.”
Fort Lee was Schmitt’s first stop before being transferred to the much larger Fort Dix in New Jersey. At Fort Dix, Afghan families were funneled into a processing center where Schmitt assisted with everything from verifying documentation to paperwork to helping moms and their children find restrooms.
“We got ready to assist 10,000 people. There was a pantry with snacks, water and baby items; a system to organize luggage and they handed out wristbands with numbers to keep families together and to ID who was who,” she said.
“I helped them fill out forms; made sure kids were staying nearby; made sure people didn’t need immediate medical attention.”
Each Afghan family was escorted by military personnel to find outfits for each member and assigned a room in the barracks.
“The overall mood was that most people were still very much in shock. I thought this was probably the most overwhelming experience of their lives and how well they were handling it. There was overwhelming gratitude that they were safe with their families,” Schmitt said.
The program that evacuated Afghans only allowed immediate family to travel together, including children, but only if the children were unmarried and under the age of 21.
“Many of them were mourning that they may never see their parents again or their older children again.”
Amid the chaos, the Afghan children became a source of hope and joy for the families and for the military personnel and volunteers helping them.
“The kids were so fun to watch. They were just little balls of energy, playing with balls or toys. Some of them were already picking up English. Some of the parents had flawless English and some knew none. But, the kids were picking it up so fast. One little boy who was 3 feet tall would belt out ‘Hi’ or ‘Hello’ to everyone who came through that hallway. It was really sweet to see.”
Schmitt’s experience from previous work in Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Palestine and Israel helped her relate to the Afghan families, and it will continue to serve well the refugee families and Catholic Charities, which serves as Oklahoma’s only government-approved resettlement agency.
Oklahoma is expected to help about 1,800 Afghans. The most immediate need will be financial assistance to help families get settled.
“They would much rather be in Afghanistan with a stable, secure, peaceful place,” said Patrick Raglow, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
“As we strive to do with all our clients, we want to make sure these families have a dignified life. They’re going to add greatly and richly to our communities.”
Diane Clay is editor of the Sooner Catholic.
How to Help
Online at:
catholiccharitiesok.org
Click on Refugee Assistance at the top right.
Or mail a check to:
Catholic Charities
Refugee Resettlement
1232 N. Classen Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73106
