One year later, Afghani refugees adjust to Clemson life

A year after they arrived, some 50 refugees from Afghanistan are said to have adjusted well to their new lives in Clemson, according to a statement by Mayor Robert Halfacre.  He says Afghanis have landed well-paying jobs which allow them to support themselves and their families.  Many of the refugees, however, are single men who directly supported U-S operations in their native country.  Some who married were forced to leave without their families.  Clemson’s Muslim community has partnered with local Christian churches to provide help, including English classes and community events.  And Jody Cross of the Open Arms Refugee ministry says some of the families are fully independent, able to drive, have cars, and are doing well.  But most have at least one family member who has needed help with English, a language foreign to them.  Helping female Afghanis has been harder.  They have felt isolation because they were never allowed to go to school in Afghanistan, making the transition to a new country more difficult from what it has been for males.  Some numbers include 18 Guatemalans in Seneca and 27 Ukrainians in Clemson, Seneca, and Anderson.