Federal officials on Wednesday clarified recent misinformation about conditions and misconstrued statistics regarding the refugees being temporarily housed at Camp Atterbury.
Following a visit to the southern Johnson County base, U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) told a cable news station that “only 25 (of the refugees) had actual documents.”
The vast majority — about 76% — have presented some form of identification or documentation demonstrating their identity, said Lorie Dankers, a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration and Operation Allies Welcome.
“It is important to note more than 22% of our guests are age nine and younger, suggesting that many of those may not have a government-issued ID,” she said.
Another rumor propagated by an area radio talk show suggested that the 25 refugees who have been released from Camp Atterbury were Taliban operatives who were sent back to Afghanistan.
“There are individuals who have departed Camp Atterbury due to eligibility or completion of on-site processing. Some individuals have decided to continue the resettlement process outside of Camp Atterbury. Intelligence, law enforcement and counterterrorism professionals conduct screening and security vetting before the Afghan guests are allowed into the United States. This includes reviews of both biographic and biometric data,” Dankers said in the statement.
Refugees are individuals who aided the United State’s mission in Afghanistan, and would be at risk for retaliation by the Taliban and ISIS-K if they stayed in or returned to their home country.
Officials also said rumors that conditions are squalid and refugees are displaying violent behavior are untrue.
Conditions at the base are safe and as comfortable as an army barracks can be. All of the roughly 6,600 refugees have a bed and, thanks to the generosity of countless Hoosiers, are getting necessities such as clothing to ease their transition to the United States.
So far, more than 317,000 items have been donated to the refugees through Team Rubicon and the American Red Cross. At the base, supplies are being equitably distributed to the refugees from the aid partners with help from volunteers with the aid organizations.
“The need is there, and we can help,” Michael Martel, a Team Rubicon operations associate for Task Force Atterbury, said in a statement. “It’s important to lend a hand and pull people up. That is what America is about, and that is what Team Rubicon does. It’s important to help for no other reason than just because it’s needed.”
The goal has been to lighten the burden of the transition to the United States, and to provide assistance to other non-governmental organizations supporting the Afghan refugees, Martel said. Team Rubicon’s humanitarian and disaster response work is brought to refugees solely through donations and veteran-led volunteer teams.
With the change of seasons, the aid partners are now asking for fall and winter clothes and shoes for all ages, according to an Operation Allies Welcome news release. Other new items to consider donating include baby formula, diapers, coloring books, crayons and toys, the news release says.
“It’s been a community effort to ensure that the donations Team Rubicon has received from the public are getting to our guests here,” Beth Windisch, an external affairs officer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement. “What I find really inspiring is that everyone is working hard to achieve that in partnership. All the different groups here are locked step-by-step to focus on taking care of these guests.”
