[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 192 (Tuesday, November 2, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RECOGNIZING THE AFGHAN COALITION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ERIC SWALWELL

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 2, 2021

  Mr. SWALWELL. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the Afghan Coalition 
for its outstanding service to the Afghan-American population in the 
San Francisco Bay Area, particularly during the humanitarian and 
immigration crisis related to the end of the 20-year U.S. military 
mission in Afghanistan.
  The City of Fremont, partially within the 15th Congressional 
District, is the heart of the Afghan diaspora in America, the center of 
the largest Afghan American community in the United States. Many local 
families have struggled to help their loved ones escape Afghanistan 
this year as the Taliban resurged.
  Founded in 1996, the Afghan Coalition long has been the voice for 
various under-served groups in the Afghan American community, providing 
a range of programs including, youth counseling and education, food 
banking, mental health advocacy, and direct assistance to immigrants 
and refugees who settle here after fleeing violence and instability.
  In recent months, the coalition has hosted a series of town hall 
events with local elected officials, immigration and mental health 
experts, and other community leaders in order to keep the Afghan 
American community informed, comforted, and tied in with community 
resources during these difficult times.
  Through the tireless service of Executive Director Rona Popal, the 
coalition's board of directors, and its staff and volunteers, the 
Afghan Coalition has supported and championed countless families in 
their time of need while also providing important public information to 
keep the Afghan people's plight front and center in our civic 
discourse. Their advocacy comes from a place of strength and love, and 
inspires us all to do more to help those who helped our troops during 
America's longest war.
  I thank the Afghan Coalition for its continued work to improve lives 
in the Bay Area and around the world.

                          ____________________