Invitation: We’ll gather - Afghan newcomers as well as health care professionals, representatives of organizations working with Afghans, and friends and volunteers caring for Afghan and other refugees - to share information and explore this important topic.
Date: Tuesday, May 23, 2:00-4:00pm; American University, Department of Sociology, Main Campus, Mary Graydon Center Room 245. For more information and to register to join us, see here.
Venue: American University
Confirmed Speakers:
- Prof. M. Bashir Mobasher, Postdoc, American University Department of Sociology; Antidiscrimination Advocate; Researcher & Author; and American University’s first Afghan Exile Scholar Postdoctoral Fellow
-
Ms. Yvonne Clarke, recipient of the Meritorious Silver Medal for commitment and devotion in support of the President’s humanitarian action for Afghan refugees in the US
-
Dr. Hosai Hesham, Executive Director, Afghan Medical Professionals Association of America (AMPAA)
-
Ms. Raghad Bushnaq, Founder & Executive Director, Mozaic DMV
Sponsor: Washington Center for International Education
Co-Sponsor and Host: American University’s Immigrant Lab
Program Co-Sponsors: Afghan Medical Professionals Association of America (AMPAA) and Mozaic
Location: American University Campus, Mary Graydon Center Room 245, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest Washington, DC 20016
Program Description: The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 created a refugee crisis, with more than 88,500 Afghans arriving in the U.S. since August 2021, with more than 6000 settling in Maryland and Virginia.
Many Afghan newcomers have medical and mental health concerns that require immediate attention as well as long-term care far beyond their immediate settlement needs. Food insecurity because of unemployment, chronic health conditions, lack of access to healthcare, and mental health concerns arising from the traumas of the country’s collapse, uncertainty regarding friends and loved ones still in Afghanistan, and the pressures of resettlement all affect newcomers.
For new immigrants, accessing healthcare services has always been challenging because of cultural, linguistic and economic barriers – and the barriers to health and well-being are even greater for Afghan newcomers because of language and cultural barriers.