EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) — A school district in a San Diego suburb that is home to a large refugee population said many of its …
EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) — A school district in a San Diego suburb that is home to a large refugee population said many of its families who had taken summer trips to Afghanistan to see relatives have gotten stuck there with the chaos following the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The Cajon Valley Union School District said the families of 24 students from various schools had reported they would not able to start the school year on Aug.17 because the children and their parents were unable to get through the throngs of people at the Kabul airport. Thousands have been converging on the airport, desperate to escape since the Taliban seized control of the country. The district is in the suburb of El Cajon, east of San Diego. The families had traveled separately to Afghanistan for summer vacations to see their grandparents, cousins and other relatives. Most of the families came to the United States on a special immigrant visa after having worked for the U.S. government or U.S. military in Afghanistan, officials said. The visa allows in only the person and their spouse and children. “Just like you and I, they had used the summer to go back to see their relatives,“ Superintendent David Miyashiro said. “No one felt that were going to be unsafe or unable to return.
