Refugee groups worry about backlash after shooting of National Guard soldiers in DC
SEATTLE– People who work with refugees fear that those who fled dangerous situations to start over in America will face backlash after authorities said an Afghan national shot and killed two National Guard soldiers this week.
Many Afghans living in the United States are afraid to leave their homes, fearing they will be swept up by immigration officials or attacked with hate speech, said Shawn VanDiver, president of the San Diego-based #AfghanEvac, a group that helps resettle Afghans who aided the United States during the two-decade war.
“They’re terrified. It’s insane,” VanDiver told The Associated Press on Thursday. “People are acting xenophobic because of a deranged man. He doesn’t represent all Afghans. He represents himself.”
Officials say Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, drove from his home in Bellingham, Washington, to the nation’s capital, where he shot and killed two members of the West Virginia National Guard deployed to Washington, DC. On Thursday, Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remained hospitalized in critical condition.
Lakanwal had worked in a special unit of the CIA-backed Afghan army before emigrating from Afghanistan, according to #AfghanEvac and two sources who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
He applied for asylum during the Biden administration and his asylum was approved this year after undergoing extensive review, the group said.
After the shooting, President Donald Trump said his administration would vet everyone who entered the country under former President Joe Biden — a move his administration had planned even before the shooting.
Refugee groups fear they will now be seen as guilty by association.
Ambassador Ashraf Haidari, founder and president of Displaced International, which provides resources, advocacy and support to displaced people around the world, said there must be a thorough investigation and justice for those who were harmed, “but even as we seek accountability, the alleged actions of one individual cannot define, overwhelm or endanger entire communities who had no part in this tragedy.” »
Matthew Soerens, vice president of World Relief, a Christian humanitarian organization that helps settle refugees, including Afghan nationals, in Whatcom County, Washington, said the person responsible for the shooting should be brought to justice according to the law.
“Regardless of the nationality, religion or specific legal status of the alleged perpetrator,” he said, “we urge our country to recognize these evil acts as those of a single person, and not to unfairly judge others sharing the same characteristics.”
