From Afghanis who fled to veterans who served, the fall of Afghanistan is being felt half a world away in Nevada.
Las Vegan Sayed Najibi left Afghanistan 40 years ago but has extended family there. He told State of Nevada that the triumphant Taliban was “knocking on doors and looking for people” in the community where his sister lives.
Najibi said when he connected with his family over the Internet, the youngest ones asked if they could come live with him.
“I feel very, very hurt for how the kids and my family and how the kids and my sister's family are living there,” he said. “And that's really, really hard.”
Las Vegas businesswoman Angie Morelli, a Marine veteran of Afghanistan, said the fall of the country led her to ask “this question in your head — was it worth it?”
“It has been frustrating and dismaying to see some of these things that are coming out,” she said, “but also, if you really look at the facts of what's going on, there's really no other way that it was going to go down.”
Morelli, a past commander of VFW Post 10047 in Las Vegas, connected with her circle of fellow veterans and there was spirited discussion of politics and strategy, but all agreed it was time for the Americans to go.
“There are a lot of things that we can disagree on, there are a lot of things that we do agree on,” she said. “We all agree that eventually, we had to leave, we had to get out of there.
“It is disappointing that this democracy has fallen,” she said, “and I don't know who's to blame for that, because we've had two Republican presidents and Two Democratic presidents.”
Morelli has watched the war since she served 20 years ago and, when asked if it was worth it, replied, “ I don't know. I don't know if it was worth it. I don't know.”
One question that haunts her is what happened to the children she gave bottles of water to two decades ago in the Afghan village market near her base.
“It makes me think. Those kids are 25 now. Where are they? Are they military? Are they civilians? Did they join the Taliban,” she asked. “It just kind of makes me think about those kids now.”
Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, the resettlement agency for the state, has welcomed one Afghan refugee in recent weeks and is preparing for more.
Deacon Tom Roberts, the group’s president and CEO, said he has yet to get official word on how many Afghan refugees to expect and when they might arrive.
“Like everyone, we were caught by surprise, we were not given any advance notice that this was happening,” he said. “We're still waiting for updates about arrivals. So we're doing the best we can to prepare as much as we can, without a lot of good information.”
Roberts said that in the decade in his job he has been amazed by the resiliency of the refugees Catholic Charities has helped resettle.
“They have become amazing and productive citizens of our community — folks that are doctors and lawyers and business owners, as well as people working in hotel-casinos,” he said.
Roberts said those looking to assist the refugees can donate to Catholic Charities and designate that the money be used for resettlement efforts.
Sayed Najibi, Las Vegas resident, Afghanistan native; Deacon Tom Roberts, Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada; Angie Morelli, Marine veteran of Afghanistan, business owner
