JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The staff at Jacksonville's Lutheran Social Services has seen the images of Afghans desperately trying to leave their country.
Laura Cook, manager of refugee services, said her nonprofit agency is anticipating a surge in its refugee resettlement program.
"Next year, we are slotted to serve 275 new arrivals," Cook said. "That does not include SIDs (Special Immigration Visa), so that could be an extremely large amount of people."
Cook reported her office is already receiving calls from Jacksonville's Afghan community concerning their loved ones trapped in a nation falling into chaos.
"It is heartbreaking to hear my mom, my parents, my siblings are there and just pouring out," said Cook. "They just don't have any hope for family members.
According to the staff at the Nabi Akram Center, there are about 400 - 500 Afghani families now living in Jacksonville.
Mohammad Safi, 44, is among them. He resettled in Jacksonville one year ago.
Safi told On Your Side his mother and a daughter were in the process of applying for their visas to come to Jacksonville before the government collapsed to its enemy the Taliban.
"The water is coming from my eyes," said Safi. "What happened to my country?"
He worries because he doesn't know if his family will be able to leave.
Cook said usually the resettlement is a lengthy process, hampered by changes in immigration laws.
"We have to rebuild our infrastructure and our staffing," Cook explained. "We have to rebuild our community base with housing, we have to increase our donor base."
In other words, there is much work to do before the first set of Afghani refugees arrive.
In describing the task before them, Cook said it involves cultural orientation, job training and working with apartment communities to find housing for the new residents.
"We anticipate serving a lot more Afghan families in the next few weeks if not months," she said.