More Afghans arriving in Indiana to await resettlement

Some 6700 Afghan evacuees are making an Indiana National Guard installation in central Indiana their home as they await resettlement in the United States.

They've been arriving at Camp Atterbury since early September under the federal government's "Operation Allies Welcome," and more than 300 have left the camp with the help of resettlement agencies to begin their new lives in the U.S.

Camp Atterbury, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Indianapolis, is one of eight sites in the U.S. that the Department of Defense is using for Afghan special immigrant visa applicants, their families, and other Afghan personnel.

Additional evacuees are expected to arrive in the coming weeks, although it's unclear how many, said Mark Howell, regional spokesman for the federal Transportation Security Administration overseeing Operation Allies Welcome.

Adult men and women live in separate dormitories, which house more than 100 people each, and the young children are placed in the same dormitories as the women.

A large percentage of the evacuees at Camp Atterbury are children and young teenagers, and there have even been more than half a dozen babies born at Camp Atterbury during the past month.

It's unclear how many Afghans have resettled in Indiana, but the state is projected to take 490, according to U.S. officials. They could be processed at any of the eight temporary housing sites, Howell said.

Of those housed at Camp Atterbury, about 58% are male, 42% are female and more than 47% are 18 years or younger, Howell said.

More than 6,100 Afghan refugees at Camp Atterbury have been vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella and varicella (chickenpox) between Sept. 6-17, according to National Guard officials.

The evacuees must be vaccinated against measles, COVID-19, and other diseases before they can leave the temporary housing site.

Soldiers and volunteer teachers have also started a makeshift school for Afghan children while they await resettlement.