No Matter What Happens: A Race Forward Podcast Series

Episode 7: The Critical Moment To Welcome and Support Afghan Refugees with Bilal Askaryar

Episode Notes

In the seventh installment of Reflections: A Race Forward Podcast, recorded at the National Immigrant Integration Conference 2021, Bilal Askaryar, Communications Coordinator, #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign, tells Race Forward’s Hendel Leiva, “Afghans are used to being forgotten, used to being the number one story in the news for a week, two weeks, a month, and then not ever being talked about again. And so one thing that we've learned is that when the moment hits, you seize it! We need to make sure that we're building the capacity among our leaders now so that when there is another moment, we are able to get into the right spaces and demand that we're at the table.” 

 

Listen in as Bilial talks about the mental preparation he had to undergo to speak at the National Immigrant Integration Conference about the humanitarian crisis caused by the U.S. military’s sudden withdrawal in August 2020, and the powerful message he was able to give to the audience. 

 

About, Bilal Askarya: https://bit.ly/3KLfrrA

 

Executive Producers: Hendel Leiva & Cheryl Cato Blakemore 

Associate Producer: Kendy Solis

 

Produced in collaboration with the National Partnership For New Americans