The US government wants billions for the displaced

Tuesday 07 September 2021

Successful life in the USA

The US government wants billions for the displaced

The US Congress is expected to approve $6.4 billion for integration and humanitarian assistance for the displaced Afghans. Meanwhile, the United Nations needs $606 million for the next few months. Your relief coordinator sees a different movement in the Taliban than it did 20 years ago.

The US government is asking Congress to approve $6.4 billion (€5.3 billion) for the care and integration of displaced Afghans. A senior budget official said it was about helping them “build a new and successful life” in the United States. The funds must be provided through a supplemental budget to the Department of State and Department of Defense. The money will also be used for humanitarian aid for Afghans and to help refugees at US military bases abroad, for example in Ramstein, Germany. It remains open whether and to what extent Congress will approve the government’s proposal.

Democrats led by President Joe Biden control the House, but the Senate will likely rely on some Republican approval. In general, support for displaced Afghans in the United States has broad support on both sides.

UN Emergency Aid Coordinator Martin Griffiths sees an opportunity for humanitarian cooperation with the Taliban on the ground. “The movement we are facing today – as many people have told me – is not the movement we have seen,” Griffiths said after visiting Afghanistan. Hardline Islamists no longer look inward the way they did 20 years ago, when they were driven from power. “They’re also more willing and more committed to keeping the promises they’ve made or made,” Griffiths said. One of the group leaders also asked for help and guidance from the United Nations.

The emergency aid coordinator had traveled to Kabul in light of the impending humanitarian disaster. Griffiths reiterated the international community’s readiness to provide Afghanistan with humanitarian aid, as it is called. On Friday, the United Nations announced the holding of a high-level aid conference for Afghanistan. The ministerial meeting is scheduled for September 13 in Geneva. The United Nations needs $606 million over the next four months.