The Foreign Service Journal, March 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2022 51 Our smaller team’s actual mission, however, turned out to be far larger in scope. While we certainly kept the LE staff as our number-one priority, our small team’s office also became a respite for many other Afghan guests to come in and just be able to speak to someone about their specific case. Yes, there were frequent town hall meetings in which information was given out about the resettlement process, but often our guests craved one-on-one attention from someone who cared about their situation and would provide some comfort simply by listening to their concerns. One instance of such comfort and care was truly “beautifully human.” At the end of a busy day spent largely providing case updates to our LE staff colleagues, a young woman walked into our office looking distraught. She sat down at our desk, and the first thing she said was: “I want to go back to Afghanistan.” She then immediately broke down in tears. As she began to tell her story, it became evident that her husband was emotionally abusing her. I watched as my two female colleagues assured her that we would take care of her by moving her to a different village on the base, away from her abusive husband. At the same time, this young woman was very concerned about keeping the mat- ter discreet on the base. My colleagues provided her assurance that her privacy would be respected. After a very emotional hour, the young woman wanted to remain in our office to allow the redness and tears in her eyes to subside before going to her new housing assignment. Finally, she was ready to face the world again; my colleagues had done such an amazing job comforting her that the young woman no longer wanted to return to Afghanistan. Instead, she decided the best thing for her to do would be to contact a close friend in New York City and start her new life there. The empathy and genuine compassion my colleagues showed this young Afghan woman was just one example of the work going on here at JBMDL. I am proud to be part of the interagency team undertaking such an enormous effort to bring peace and comfort to the lives of more than 120,000 Afghans who are resettling in the United States. Rick Matton is a Foreign Service officer with the State Department and retired Air Force officer, who currently serves as the general services officer at U.S. Consulate General Guayaquil. In November, he deployed in support of Operation Allies Welcome to Fort Dix, New Jersey, where he integrated with the Joint Task Force to assist in expediting the safe departure and resettlement of the 12,000 Afghan new arrivals there. The Desire to Help Was Contagious FORT BLISS, NEW MEXICO Minal Amin I watched as events unfolded on Aug. 15, 2021, stunned and in a state of disbelief by what was transpiring in Afghanistan. The United States was less than a month away from the 20th anniver- sary of the 9/11 attacks, and the Taliban was again taking control of a nation that the U.S. government had actively supported throughout two decades. When USAID presented the Afghanistan-related detail opportunity, I immediately knew this was a unique moment that I couldn’t pass up. I knew very little about the assignment, but that didn’t matter. I knew nothing about the location to which I would eventually be assigned; that, too, didn’t mat- ter. Paramount was the opportunity to help those who had lost everything and support them in rebuilding their lives in a new country—a country I call home. Afghan women learn about American currency during a financial literacy lesson taught by USAID FSO Minal Amin. MINALAMIN