BUTTE - An organization in Butte is planning to welcome Afghan families who have been displaced during the U.S. pullout in the war in Afghanistan.
The group, known as Butte Heart, has received a $15,000 grant from the Schultz Family Foundation to help them resettle over a dozen Afghans displaced by the chaos
Noor Jahan Parwana is an Afghan-American who started Butte Heart and felt compelled to help.
“We care about people, we’re living in times where it’s very important to us to express our humanity and our love for our neighbors who may not be like us,” said Parwana.
By early 2022, the group plans to help the refugees find housing and employment.
“It is the hope of Butte Heart that these people will have jobs and earning money within a month and then be self-sufficient in about three months,” said Parwana.
She said some employers in Butte have expressed to her that they are willing to give the refugees jobs when they get to town.
“There is a need for labor and Afghans are hard workers, you know, they are willing to do whatever work they need to do to support their families,” she said.
Butte Heart organizers realize this is a controversial issue and could get some opposition, but they believe Butte will be accepting because this is a town built by immigrants.
“Unless we’re Native Americans, we are immigrants. And we have seen this throughout the history of this country, when the Irish came, they suffered under prejudice, when the Italians came, they suffered under prejudice, so this is just another step on that long road of Americans needing to learn that we’re all human and it doesn’t matter where we come from,” said Parwana.
Butte Heart is seeking more volunteers and plans to hold an organizational meeting next month.
