By Talya Meyers, Photo: Friends of Refugees, Direct Relief, April 6, 2022
The women began arriving from Afghanistan in October of 2021, spending time sequestered on a military base before being resettled in Clarkston, Georgia.
“It was scary for those who were there…and then they evacuated, and they were in camps for months,” said Muzhda Oriakhil, a community liaison and new community engagement manager at Friends of Refugees, a Clarkston-based NGO that offers support to refugees resettling in the United States. “Mentally they are really exhausted.”
Many of them were also late in their pregnancies, and some were experiencing difficulties. One mother of eight who had never before had pregnancy-related health problems began having severe headaches and contractions. Another told Oriakhil that she felt ashamed and uncomfortable staying with all her children in a single hotel room.
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