‘NC stands ready to welcome these heroes.’ Top lawmaker urges help for Afghan refugees

The photographs of an Afghan interpreter in a U.S. military uniform helping American troops remain fresh in the mind of N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore.

He met the interpreter over the summer through a North Carolina-based nonprofit, Interpreting Freedom Foundation.

Moore learned that the interpreter came to the United States on a Special Immigrant Visa after helping troops from North Carolina in Afghanistan. He listened to concerns that if the United States pulled out of Afghanistan the interpreter’s friends and family would be in danger from the Taliban.

That is the situation that U.S. troops and the country’s allies, including Afghan interpreters, find themselves in now.

Because of that, Moore, a Cleveland County Republican, is urging North Carolina’s leaders and residents to welcome refugees into the state.

“These are folks who literally put their lives on the line for our folks there in harm’s way,” Moore said. “I think our nation owes it to these folks. You’ve got to keep your word on something like that or if not, when the next conflict happens, who is going to stand with us?”

Moore’s stance in support of refugees is atypical of the Republican Party ordinarily, at least since former President Donald Trump has come to dominate the party. And it contrasts with pushback that came from leaders of both political parties in 2015 against Syrian refugees coming to North Carolina.

But with the current foreign policy crisis, Republicans are divided on whether to help, The Associated Press reported.

“How many terrorists will Joe Biden bring to America?” Trump asked in a statement he released last week about the refugees. A week earlier Trump had urged Americans to help the refugees.

That’s the rhetoric that people like Faisal Khan, a Muslim civil- and human-rights activist in North Carolina, has grown accustomed to.

“From a historical standpoint, most of these Republicans did not speak out under the Trump administration when his hateful campaign slogans about the Muslim travel ban and the xenophobic rhetoric against Black and Muslim immigrant refugees,” Khan said.

Now a Democratic president is in power. Republicans who speak out on behalf of refugees can do so while also taking a shot at President Joe Biden’s handling of Afghanistan.

Moore told his colleagues in the House that this had nothing to do with politics but about helping people who helped the country, though that hasn’t stopped him from criticizing how Biden handled withdrawing American troops.

The United States has maintained a military presence in Afghanistan since it overthrew the Taliban in 2001 following terrorist attacks in Washington and New York on 9/11.

Twenty years later, Biden announced that he would withdraw troops on Aug. 31. Following the announcement the Taliban had a resurgence, taking over every major Afghan city until taking the country back entirely on Aug. 17.

That left U.S. troops and Afghan allies fearing for their safety and trying to escape the country.

Moore thought back to the interpreter, who he declined to name to protect the man’s loved ones.

“He basically told us ... that he was worried this is exactly what was going to happen if there was a sudden draw down and a sudden pullout,” Moore said. “He knew firsthand folks, who had served with Americans, who had served with our country to fight for freedom, who are now behind enemy lines, trying to get out.”

‘We’re going to get killed’

Khan said an official number of refugees expected in the state has not been released.

Gov. Roy Cooper ordered that all United States and North Carolina flags be lowered to half-staff until sunset Aug. 30 to honor the victims of a terrorist attack on Thursday at the airport in Kabul.

The U.S. Department of Defense said Thursday that a suicide bomber killed 13 service members helping with evacuations and 169 Afghans.

On Saturday, the department confirmed that two of those service members, Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss and Marine Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, were based in North Carolina at Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune.

Gee’s Instagram last shows her at the airport helping refugees board a plane. Her second-to-last photo is of her in uniform holding a baby in Kabul with the caption, “I love my job.”

Moore had just learned about the attack when he spoke with The N&O Thursday. His voice cracked occasionally with emotion.

“We’ve got veterans that have been talking to us, and we’re hearing about, that are just beside themselves,” Moore said, adding that many Afghans “literally” fought alongside the United States. “They’re reaching up to various platforms saying, ‘can you please help me and my family get out of here. We’re going to get killed.’”

“These guys are just justifiably beside themselves,” Moore said.

Moore, Cooper spoke on Afghan allies

As Moore watched the images in news reports of people trying to escape and take refuge elsewhere he felt compelled to help.

“How do you hear that and not be moved to try to do something?” Moore said.

His first step was to call Cooper.

“The Governor and the Speaker agreed it was positive for North Carolina to assist in welcoming our Afghanistan allies and they discussed a potential joint statement that ended up with each just doing his own statement,” said Ford Porter, spokesman for Cooper.

Cooper released his statement on Twitter.

“Ensuring the safety of American allies who assisted our troops in Afghanistan is critically important and shows the world that the United States keeps its word and will help those who help us,” Cooper said in a statement. “These allies and their families sacrificed their safety to stand with our troops and they should be vetted and then welcomed by North Carolinians and Americans all across the country.”

The same day, Moore issued both a statement and video.

“President Biden’s failure to swiftly and safely evacuate all Americans, including our wartime combat interpreters, from Kabul is an affront to the brave men and women, Afghan nationals, who were embedded with American troops and promised special immigrant visas upon their faithful service to America,” Moore said in his written statement. “They’re now facing beating, slaughter, and execution of their loved ones. North Carolina stands ready to welcome these heroes, who are some of our bravest, but most unrecognized heroes.”

Moore said at least 84 North Carolinians died in Afghanistan and the war has affected the mental and physical health of those who survived.

“Our North Carolina servicemen and women deserve nothing less than our full and unfettered support as the Taliban return to power and resume their reign of terror over the Afghan people,” Moore said.

Earlier, Moore introduced a House resolution telling Congress and Biden to do more to evacuate American citizens, troops, “properly vetted” allied troops and Afghan citizens and their families that helped the United States.

The House passed Moore’s resolution unanimously.

Rep. John Ager, a Buncombe County Democrat, spoke before the vote saying that his son fought in Afghanistan and Ager asked him what he needed right now.

“He said the only thing he really cared about was taking care of the translators and others that helped his unit save lives in that war,” Ager said. “I hope when the time comes that North Carolina will welcome some of these Afghans, our fair share of these Afghan allies and partners, into our state and be willing to take care of them until they can get resettled.”

Sincerity or rhetoric?

Khan said he hopes that lawmakers are being sincere about helping.

“I think to me that needs to be a prime focus is that, ‘why didn’t they come out and speak out against the president from their own party and now they’re welcoming refugees?” Khan said.

Khan said he feels like this might be more about optics before an upcoming election than about actually helping people. He said he personally has organized protests and rallies to help refugees in the past and not once did Republican leadership come out to help.

Moore said if someone thinks that his stance on Afghan refugees is about optics they don’t know him very well. He said he made that clear when he called Cooper and said that he wasn’t offering up lip service but sincerely wanting state officials to do something.

Despite Khan’s trepidation about Moore’s intentions, Khan said hearing that Moore wants North Carolinians to help some of the 100,000 expected refugees is a welcome sign and he would love to work alongside the speaker to make that happen.

Khan, who has been working with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the organization Lutheran Services to prepare North Carolina for refugees, said the General Assembly could help by:

▪ calling businesses and encouraging them to help find jobs and housing for the refugees.

▪ helping pay for a storage unit for a deluge of furniture donations that have been offered up for refugees.

▪ funding six months to a year of housing for refugees.

Moore said that the House budget, which the Senate has rejected and is currently being discussed in committees, earmarked $500,000 to the Interpreting Freedom Foundation which provides a grant to help military interpreters and their families.

But he said he understood that federal money would be allocated to help house refugees. He added that if he learns that the state government needs to step in to help he will make it happen.

North Carolina’s congressional delegation has also weighed in on the issue, with a majority of statements focused on criticizing the president.

Sen. Thom Tillis and U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, both Republicans, said they’re working with their staff and constituents to help Afghan allies obtain Special Immigrant Visas.

“I am calling on President Biden to commit to leaving no American or ally behind - regardless of deadlines and regardless of what the Taliban and terrorists say,” Hudson said. “Otherwise, the President should level with the American people that he is signing the death warrants of our allies and their families we are leaving behind.”

This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 3:16 PM with the headline "‘NC stands ready to welcome these heroes.’ Top lawmaker urges help for Afghan refugees."