I didn't expect to meet "the Ruth Bader Ginsburg of Afghanistan" at a poetry reading at Hula in Burlington. Justice Anisa Rasooli — who was being considered for a seat on her country's highest court when the Taliban took over the country in 2021 — is a Vermonter now. She's one of 600 Afghans resettled in the Green Mountain State in the aftermath of the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
With a dignified air but limited English, Rasooli was part of an entourage of Afghans at the event on May 10. Shepherding the group was former lieutenant governor Molly Gray, the first executive director of the Vermont Afghan Alliance, a local nonprofit organization created to help these American-made refugees forge new lives in the Green Mountain State.
Their experiences — in both places — are of great interest to us journalists, but historically, the people in charge of refugee resettlement in Vermont have avoided the media for fear that exposure will disadvantage the new arrivals in some way or arouse resentment, misinformation or potential violence among the native population. They're not wrong to worry. Case in point: Springfield, Ohio.
This encounter was different. To my pleasant surprise, Gray was forthcoming. She gave me a crash course in the complicated politics and anthropology of Afghanistan and, with her baby son strapped to her chest, graciously introduced me to Rasooli and the other Afghans — guys who had worked for the U.S. military, at the airport and in various militia groups. Through a translator, she made it clear to them that I publish a local newspaper. All of them were eager to tell me about their lives.
A few weeks later, Gray was in the Seven Days office, downloading her knowledge to a larger group of reporters and editors. She explained that the Afghans in Vermont don't all speak the same language. They come from different social classes: Some are highly educated; others are illiterate. There's a rural-urban divide. Plus, they don't all have the same immigration status and, therefore, have varying chances of getting what the U.S. government promised them — specifically, family reunification.
Gray also explained the complicated bureaucracy that has grown up around refugee settlement in the U.S. One organization focuses on housing, another on employment, yet another on legal issues.
We asked Gray a lot questions and listened intently to her answers. The takeaway: Vermont has the largest per capita concentration of Afghan refugees of any state in the nation. Seven Days was perfectly positioned to inform our readers about this unique local population — their plights, backstories, labors and hopes. It would be an ambitious project, with lots of communication challenges.
Three reporters volunteered, as did consulting editor Ken Ellingwood, who lived and worked as a foreign correspondent in the Middle East for the Los Angeles Times. They divvied up the stories that became this week's cover package to show both the commonalities of the group and the dramatic diversity of situations within it.
Alison Novak interviewed Rasooli and other Afghan women in Colchester — and came away with a new appreciation for gender equity, her own 17-year-old daughter's freedom and the most delicious cardamom-spiced rice pudding she has ever tasted.
Colin Flanders had the tough job of getting to know a group of Afghan men in Burlington who once worked for a U.S.-sanctioned militia group. Like the migrant farmworkers who toil on Vermont dairy farms, these guys live in a congregate setting, laboring day and night to be able to send money home to their families. What's different is: They can't go back, and their families haven't yet been cleared to join them, leaving the men in a lonely, excruciating limbo.
Ken Picard traveled to southern Vermont, where he found a different set of resettlement organizations and a more established community of Afghan refugees that is helping itself — as well as newcomers from other countries.
This is not our first effort writing about new Americans in Vermont. For nearly four years we had a dedicated reporter, Kymelya Sari, on the beat — until a complicated visa renewal process sent her back to Singapore. While she was on staff, she sought to earn the trust of Burlington's immigrant communities and ways to safely and accurately share their stories.
Similarly, we hope "A World Away" opens eyes, minds and hearts.