Afghans in Asheville

The small congregation at the Islamic Center of Asheville has nearly doubled in size in the past several months. The newcomers are Afghan refugees who've been welcomed since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. The federal government, various towns and cities, faith communities, and nonprofits have scrambled to provide for the new arrivals, and they've also been helped by an interfaith network of social and caseworkers and volunteers, with schools and businesses doing their best to accommodate them. However, practical concerns on the ground make day-to-day life in their new country challenging for the refugees, and an ambiguous future looms before them.