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Getting From Afghanistan To Missouri

A man holds a certificate acknowledging his work for Americans as hundreds of people gather outside the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.
STR
/
AP
A man holds a certificate acknowledging his work for Americans as hundreds of people gather outside the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

What Afghans escaping their country and the Taliban will go through to reach Kansas City.

The current process involves initial stops in places like Italy and Germany. Once screened there, refugees are flown to Air Force bases in places like Texas, Wisconsin, New Jersey and Virginia.

Then, a number of factors determine where in the U.S. they will be resettled. Generally, refugees would come to a place like Missouri due to having family or friends in the area.

"The state department is working very hard to determine where people have relatives or close family connections," says Missouri state refugee coordinator Paul Costigan. "That will make a more successful resettlement process for those families."

Costigan explained how Afghan refugees will make their way to Missouri and what kind of assistance they'll receive once they arrive.

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