After three tours of duty in Afghanistan as an Army Ranger medic, Keith Jochem said he knows the Afghan people as caring, welcoming and generous.
His wife, Shazia, is also from Afghanistan, having grown up in Kabul, from where her family fled the Russian invasion in the 1980s.
That is why Jochem, a 亚洲AV police lieutenant, said he jumped at the chance to volunteer to help when a group of 174 Afghan refugees, fleeing the Taliban takeover of their country on a U.S. government flight, sheltered for 24 hours at Northern Virginia Community College鈥檚 gym in Annandale, Aug. 20-21.
鈥淚t was heartbreaking,鈥 Jochem said. 鈥淵ou have to put yourselves in their shoes. What if something happened here and you had to gather some of your clothes and documents and your family? You go to a different country, you don鈥檛 know the language, you don鈥檛 know the culture, you鈥檙e thrown into a gym, and that鈥檚 it.鈥
Jochem was one of 29 volunteers with Mason ties who gave of their time at Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC). Volunteers came from the Emergency Operations Group, University Police, the Office of the Provost, Information Technology Services, the Office of Business Services, and the regional campuses.
Dave Farris, executive director of Safety and Emergency Management at Mason, put out the call after Tom Mayhew, his counterpart at NVCC, notified him the state had activated NVCC as an emergency shelter.
It鈥檚 part of an agreement between the schools and the state that when either Mason or NVCC is activated as a shelter, the other lends a hand.
鈥淚t worked out fantastic,鈥 Mayhew said. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 have done it without the Mason folks.鈥
Though NVCC was the lead agency, Farris said Mason鈥檚 volunteers pitched in wherever necessary鈥攚hether it was setting up 500 cots, managing donations, or helping manage the 150 volunteers that showed up, including more than 100 from NVCC and many from the local Afghan community.
鈥淭he turnout from the Afghan community was unbelievable, and it absolutely couldn鈥檛 have been possible without them,鈥 Farris said.
Mason alum Roya Nasrahti, BS criminology, law, and society 鈥19, a communications officer with Mason Police, is part of that community, having come to the United States with her family from Afghanistan when she was young.
鈥淚 believe the Afghan volunteers and refugees felt more comfortable speaking with me because I spoke the same language,鈥 said Narahti. 鈥淚 also felt a sense of trust and assurance between us.鈥
Farris was sure that comfort was appreciated.
鈥淭hey were extremely tired,鈥 he said of the refugees. 鈥淎s we walked around initially handing out, food, water and clothing, it was obvious they had been through some terrible events.鈥
Jochem also speaks some Farsi, and his medical background was valuable. His wife, Shazia, an ER nurse and Mason alum (BS Psychology 鈥03; BSN 鈥08), found a babysitter for their three kids, and joined her husband.
For Jochem, seeing the Afghans in distress, including the many children and babies in the group, was jarring.
鈥淭heir culture is deep in giving and making sure everyone else is taken care of first before themselves,鈥 he said, adding, 鈥淚 still have contacts in the military in operations in [Afghanistan] that I spoke with on the phone a couple of days ago. They said what you see on the news is 10 times worse in reality.鈥
The reality for the refugees was that their travels, after a 13-hour flight from Afghanistan, were not over in Virginia. At 8 p.m. on Aug. 21 the last bus pulled away from NVCC for a ride to the Dulles Expo Center, where the refugees waited for a flight to Texas and processing.
鈥淚 know they鈥檝e been through a lot,鈥 Nasrahti said of the refugees. 鈥淭he people have been extremely traumatized. We opened our doors and hearts to let them in and keep them safe.鈥
HOW TO HELP
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- Through Mason鈥檚 .
RESOURCES
We understand that members of our Mason community may experience a range of emotions and we want to remind you of resources available at our university. For students, professional support is offered through Counseling and Psychological Services, the Student Support and Advocacy Center, the Office of International Programs and Services, and the Office of Military Services. Contact information and additional University Life resources can be identified and accessed through听. 听
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Faculty and staff resources also are available through the Employee Assistance Program, which can be accessed through your employer-sponsored health insurance. Details can be found on the benefits website at听.
Mason鈥檚 Department of History and Art History invites you and your students to attend a timely online panel discussion on "," featuring Department of History and Art History faculty and a guest speaker with historical training who served 2.5 years in-country. Please share the event announcement (below) and link as you see fit. This event is online, free, and open to the public.
Event details and Zoom link:听
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