Afghanistan

From left, Tahera Sultani, Mahrukh Delawarzad, Manizha Nazari and Shekiba Sultani are Afghan evacuees who fled their country in 2021 and are now studying at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Due to a miscommunication, the women thought they were being offered full scholarships to pursue their bachelor’s degrees and are now scrambling to raise enough money to pay for college. Photo taken Aug. 3, 2022.

They escaped the Taliban. Now these women in Wisconsin face a new foe: the high cost of college

Wisconsin Watch

Ten female students at the UW-Milwaukee thought they had full scholarships. Now the Afghan evacuees are scrambling to pay for school.

Farzana (left) talks with UWM instructor Jennifer Mattson (right) and another student during a class called Basic Skills in Academic Listening, Speaking and Notetaking for Multilingual Students. WUWM is not showing the Afghan students' faces or publishing their last names, to protect their families in Afghanistan.

Education

Afghan women who escaped Taliban takeover continue their education at UWM

Emily Files

Last August, about 150 students from the Asian University for Women were evacuated from Afghanistan as the Taliban took over. Eight of them are now studying at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Afghan refugee girls watch a soccer match near where they are staying in the Village at the Ft. McCoy U.S. Army base on Sept, 30, 2021 in Ft. McCoy, Wisconsin.

As 400 Afghan refugees resettle in the Milwaukee area, housing and transportation are key needs

Maayan Silver

Afghan refugees are finding their homes in the Greater Milwaukee area, and resettling agencies are looking for helping hands to help them get acclimated.

Members of the U.S. military and Afghan refugees play soccer at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. There are nearly 13,000 Afghans at the base.

Here's what Afghan refugees need as they're resettled in Wisconsin and across the nation

Maayan Silver

The head of a Milwaukee organization that resettles refugees gives us the latest on resettlement of Afghan refugees at Wisconsin's Fort McCoy and around the nation.

Afghan refugee girls watch a soccer match near where they are staying in the Village at Ft. McCoy U.S. Army base on September 30, 2021 in Ft. McCoy, Wisconsin. T

Tour of Wisconsin Army post reveals thankful, bored Afghans

Associated Press

Reporters were given a glimpse Thursday of Afghan refugees' lives on a Wisconsin Army post, getting to see the new arrivals playing soccer with soldiers and toting groceries to the barracks where they're being housed as they wait for their new lives in America to really begin.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. Kenneth McKenzie faced senators' questions Tuesday on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Politics & Government

Generals Say They Recommended Keeping U.S. Troops In Afghanistan

Barbara Sprunt

The remarks by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and U.S. Central Command Gen. Kenneth McKenzie are at odds with comments President Biden made during an interview in August.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - AUGUST 10 : Displaced Afghans reach out for aid from a local Muslim organization at a makeshift IDP camp on August 10, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Taliban has taken control of six provincial capitals, among other towns and trade routes, since the United States accelerated withdrawal of its forces this year. Afghan families from Kunduz, Takhar and Baghlan provinces have arrived in Kabul in greater numbers, fleeing the Taliban advance. (Photo by Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

Understanding Sharia Amid the Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan

Joy Powers

The fall of Kabul and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has been front-page news for weeks. Pundits and activists have been speculating about the fate of the nation under Taliban rule. And despite assurances from the Taliban that they’ve reformed their more extreme practices, their return to power also means the return of government-enforced Sharia law or at least the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia. UW-Madison law professor Asifa Qurashi Landes explains what Sharia law means for Muslims who live their lives by its guide and how it’s represented in media.

The Fort McCoy sign outside the main gate. News reporters were allowed as far as a grassy area near the main security checkpoint, but were told not to take photos of the gate.

Wisconsin Democrats Tour Fort McCoy, Respond To GOP Concerns About Afghan Refugees

Chuck Quirmbach

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and two House members toured Fort McCoy Tuesday, in part to counter safety concerns raised by Republicans.

Refugees walk through the departure terminal to a bus at Dulles International Airport after being evacuated from Kabul following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on August 31, 2021 in Dulles, Virginia.

How Wisconsin Resettlement Agencies Will Be Helping Afghan Refugees

Maayan Silver

The head of a local refugee resettlement organization talks about about the needs of Afghan refugees currently at Fort McCoy.

Fort McCoy is located in Monroe County, Wisconsin.

Some Republicans Attack Plan To Bring Afghan Refugees To Wisconsin

Chuck Quirmbach

The U.S. Army says it's preparing for hundreds or maybe a couple thousand Afghan refugees to be temporarily housed at Fort McCoy in western Wisconsin. The announcement has set off at least two Republican politicians.