WESTWOOD (KNX 1070) -- A few dozen people, most from Afghanistan, rallied in front of the federal building in Westwood Tuesday night and called on the United States to save the country’s citizens from the Taliban regime.
The plea from Southern Californian Afghan-Americans asked that the U.S. give asylum to Afghan refugees.
Geetee lived in Afghanistan during Taliban rule. She said the country is unsafe for more than just women under the Taliban.
“Now that we are enabling [the Taliban] to come back into the country, I think it’s an extreme danger not just for just for women, but also for the Hazara community that are constantly targeted for genocide, artists, journalists, anybody that has helped the U.S. military,” she said.
Geetee also called on the international community to help Afghans, saying, “I think that this is a time that we all need to come together in unity and stand up for the Afghan people, especially since it feels like they’ve been betrayed more than once.”
One woman there, Fatima, told KNX the Taliban threw acid on her face 4 years ago for being a women’s activist.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said that the Department of Defense is working with the State Department to provide temporary housing to Afghan refugees at two additional military bases, U.S. Fort Bliss in Texas and Forty McCoy in Wisconsin. Fort Lee in Virginia has also acted as a temporary shelter for refugees.