There is no easy way to describe the heaviness of our hearts during this time. The current events in Afghanistan leave many of our community members feeling fearful for their families and helpless from current news that threatens their homeland. Many of us have been sitting in front of our screens in disbelief at recent events. As we try to push through our busy work schedules, we have to acknowledge the feelings of fear, helplessness, loss of security, extreme sadness, and anger that arise.

‘Like a horror movie.’ Sacramento Afghan community fears for friends, relatives in Kabul

Gulshan Yusufzai, the executive director of the Sacramento-based Muslim American Society-Social Services Foundation, said it’s difficult to express the weight of what’s happened in #Afghanistan — especially for former refugees living in the U.S.

“Everyone is very scared and very worried. Our hands are tied right now; there’s nothing we can do,” Yusufzai said Monday. “You’re watching it on TV; it’s like a horror movie.”

Local Afghan Americans Worried For Relatives Left Behind In Afghanistan

“I could’ve been one of those kids that were left behind,” said Salmon Hossein, a San Juan Capistrano resident. “My sister, my family, my cousins, that could’ve been us and in any other context, it would have been us. So, we’re heartbroken. We’re confused why it seems like our foreign policy was so callous in the way we left in such a hurried rush.

Gulshan Yusufzai is the Executive Director of the Muslim American Society, a nonprofit that provides social services for the Middle Eastern community in Los Angeles. Her immediate family is out of Afghanistan, but her relatives remain in her embattled homeland.

As we grieve for our community overseas, we need to ensure that we take care of our own health and strength to continue to support each other.

MAS-SSF would like to ask for your support during this difficult time. At this time, our Afghan Community needs extra support and aid from professionals. We would like to ask our dedicated community members, who are MH professionals, psychologists, and therapists, to consider joining our efforts to reach the community.

MAS-SSF specializes in peer support work and ensuring that community members are connected to compassionate and understanding professionals through our referral process. We were aiming to collaborate with organizations & local professionals to help refer community members to necessary resources in the simplest way possible.

If you are a Mental Health professional, we would like to ask for your support in giving back to the community.