'Reply To Budi', President Joe Biden Disburses IDR 4.3 Trillion For Afghan Refugees

United States President Joe Biden. (Twitter/@JoeBiden)

JAKARTA - The President of the United States (US) Joe Biden authorized aid for Afghans who were 'refugeed' to the United States. The total aid prepared reached US$300 million or around Rp.4,342,545,000,000, Friday, July 23 local time.

The White House said in a statement that US President Joe Biden authorized up to 100 million US dollars or Rp. 1,447,515,000,000 of emergency funds to meet urgent and unexpected refugee needs stemming from the situation in Afghanistan, including for special Afghan immigration visa applicants.

In addition, President Biden also authorized the release of 200 million US dollars, or approximately Rp. 2,895,030,000,000 in services and goods from the inventory of US government agencies, to meet the same need.

The United States is preparing to begin evacuating thousands of Afghan applicants for special immigration visas (SIVs), who risk retaliation from Taliban insurgents because they work for the US Government, as a form of 'payback'.

The first batch of refugees and their families are expected to be flown before the end of the month to Fort Lee, a US military base in Virginia, where they will await final processing of their visa applications.

Earlier, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said about 2,500 Afghans could be stationed at Fort Lee, a US Army base about 48 km south of Richmond, Virginia.

Illustration of Afghans. (Wikimedia Commons/Mirahmad Kouhnavard)

Kirby opened up the possibility that some of them could be placed in different facilities, but declined to specify what other facilities, if any, were being considered.

He said around 700 people were those who had signed up for the program and the rest were their family members. Kirby added they were in the final stages of the process and would only be at base for a few days.

In addition, the Biden Administration is reviewing other US facilities in the United States and abroad, where SIV applicants and their families can be accommodated.

Special visas are available for Afghans working as translators or other jobs for the US government, following the 2001 US-led coalition invasion of international forces.

On Thursday, the US House of Representatives passed legislation that would expand the number of SIVs that can be awarded to 8,000, which would cover all potentially eligible applications in the process. About 18,000 such applications are being processed, US officials said.

"For far too long, there has been no sense of urgency needed to ensure the safety of those who are risking their lives to help Americans in these difficult circumstances," said US House Democrat Earl Blumenauer.

To note, concerns for applicants have also been fueled by increased fighting between US-backed Afghan forces and the Taliban in recent weeks, with militants gaining territory and seizing border crossings.