BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Upwards of 600 displaced Afghans who fled their homeland in 2021 are now in Vermont, clustered mainly around Burlington, Bennington, and Brattleboro.
Some of the newcomers, embraced by neighbors, are beginning to change the face of their communities. They are dismayed, too, as news from Afghanistan carries fresh word of a tightening Taliban clampdown that has outlawed even the sound of a woman’s voice.
In recent months, Seven Days reporters spoke with more than a dozen of these recent arrivals as they navigated the language and rituals of this country. Darren Perron spoke with reporter Ken Picard about what he learned.