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The First Afghan Refugees Arrive In Oklahoma

Brielle King
/
Creative Commons

The first Afghan refugees have arrived in Oklahoma.

The family of seven touched down Wednesday night in Oklahoma City, where they were greeted by an interfaith welcoming committee who provided them with bags containing things like clothes, hygiene products and copies of the Quran.

Adam Soltani leads the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, or CAIR.

"I see this as an opportunity that we can really, you know, establish that this is the Oklahoma Standard. Doesn't matter who you are, where you came from, what your religion is, but we recognize that you need a home. We are ready to provide it to you," said Soltani.

Soltani says Catholic Charities has found the family housing.

Oklahoma is expecting around 1,800 Afghan refugees in total, split roughly evenly between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. That's the third highest total in the U.S., behind only California and Texas.

This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.

Chris joined Public Radio Tulsa as a news anchor and reporter in April 2020. He’s a graduate of Hunter College and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, both at the City University of New York.
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