Pitt Center For Governance And Markets Slammed With Requests From Afghan Refugees
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh is playing a crucial role in helping many people in Afghanistan who are seeking refuge.
Hundreds of requests have been pouring into a group at the University of Pittsburgh. A group of students and a professor are answering those calls for help.
"Numbness and shock and just horror, so many friends," said Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, the director of Pitt's Center for Governance and Markets. "My phone has just been nonstop with DMs from friends who are in trouble, who are in peril."
If you are in Afghanistan and worked for the US and need help connecting with your American employers - please email us at cgm@pitt.edu
— Jen Brick Murtazashvili (@jmurtazashvili) August 15, 2021
We now have a small army of student volunteers ready to help. https://t.co/td2EZmcUCU
Murtazashvili is a Pitt professor who has traveled to Afghanistan for 16 years to help the community build a better government post-Sept. 11, 2001. On Sunday, when the Taliban captured the capital, she sent out a tweet to help those in crisis.
The response was overwhelming.
"We are getting close to one thousand queries from people over email over social media, people are sending us requests," Murtazashvili said.
Those requests are Afghan people who have worked with the U.S., promoting democracy or education in the country. They are now terrified that the Taliban has taken over.
President Joe Biden's administration instituted an asylum program for these Afghan citizens, but the verification paperwork to flee is complicated. That's where the Pitt researcher and a group of students jumped to help.
"Word has spread fast that we're here to help, that we are here to provide assistance," Murtazashvili said.
So much remains to be seen, including the upholding of women's rights, education and status following the Taliban takeover.