She drove Patan an hour to the nearest testing site for a driver’s license. She lined up English classes and state and federal services for new immigrants. She helped enroll their kids in school, find a dentist for 9-year-old Sala's infected tooth, and sign Patan up for car insurance, something that was new for the 35-year-old. Only months after they arrived, the Patan family already feels at home in large part because of Raymond. Fergus Falls is the county seat of Otter Tail County, which voted twice for former President Donald Trump.īut people in town say friendships and family take precedence over political views, and there is broad empathy for the struggle of immigrants since many people’s parents, grandparents or great grandparents came from Norway, Sweden and Denmark. It is a place where neighbors pay unannounced visits to say “hi” and people greet the postmaster by name. “In Fergus Falls, they have really good people, really friendly people,” Patan said as he drives his minivan down the tree-lined streets to pick up his 5-year-old daughter at a Head Start program. He and his family lived on their farm before they got established in Fergus Falls. Sami Massoodi, who has a degree in livestock management, also worked for Clarin’s team in Afghanistan and arrived in 2017. The only other Afghan family in town is his cousin’s. military bases as resettlement agencies struggle to keep up.Ĭlarin knows she cannot save everyone, but she's determined to help those she can.Īfter she left Afghanistan in 2011, she was consumed by anger over her program being gutted as the U.S. forces withdrew, more than 70,000 Afghans have come to the United States and thousands are languishing at U.S.
She’s driven by fear her team will be killed by the Taliban, though the new government has promised not to retaliate against Afghans who helped the U.S.
She calls senators to apply pressure so they don’t languish like the thousands of other visa applications in the backlogged system for Afghans who supported the U.S. She has stepped up her efforts, working endless hours, diligently tracking their visa applications. Since the Taliban seized power in August, texts from those remaining have grown more urgent and Clarin says she can “feel the panic increasing" as winter approaches and food shortages grow.