August 15, 2022 – In honor of the one year anniversary of Operation Allies Welcome, City of Philadelphia officials recognized those who were instrumental in supporting the relocation efforts of Afghans to the United States.
The collapse of the Afghan government and evacuation of US soldiers in 2021 caused a widespread humanitarian crisis that saw tens of thousands of desperate Afghan refugees fleeing to America and other countries. Philadelphia was designated as one of several entry points and, by the end of October, more than 25,000 refugees arrived through Philadelphia International Airport.
As part of our contract with the City of Philadelphia, GLOBO coordinated with the City’s Office of Immigrant Affairs to provide Dari and Pashto interpreters onsite, helping the refugees to receive urgent medical care, information on their next destination, and coordinating with Federal agencies. With only a week’s notice, GLOBO was able to put together a small team of Dari and Pashto interpreters to begin assisting officials with the operation.
Because the Philadelphia metro area does not have an especially large Afghan population (fewer still who are fluent in both Dari/Pashto and English), GLOBO’s Talent Team used their contacts and experience to widen their net and source more interpreters from outside of the region; even going so far as to pay for their lodging. Altogether, GLOBO was able to provide 25 interpreters who provided more than 2,200 hours of interpreting support over the course of 12 weeks.
GLOBO is exceptionally proud to have been involved in this critical operation.
Pictured (left to right): Chris Donnelly, Manager, Scheduled Interpreter Services at GLOBO; Amy Eusebio, Office of Immigrant Affairs; Dominika Weston, Talent Manager at GLOBO.
Read the full press release below:
August 15, 2022
Published by: Office of the Mayor, Office of Emergency Management
Contact: Mayor's Office of Communications press@phila.gov
PHILADELPHIA — Mayor Jim Kenney hosted a special thank you event today at City Hall to honor and thank the many individuals and communities in the Philadelphia area who were instrumental in Operation Allies Welcome, including through the resettlement of hundreds of Afghans in the Philadelphia area. Mayor Kenney was joined by special guest U.S. Department of State’s leading principal on refugee resettlement, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Julieta Valls Noyes.
Both Mayor Kenney and Assistant Secretary Noyes thanked resettlement agency and community partners, volunteer groups, and city and state officials for stepping up to support arriving Afghans and welcome them to the City of Brotherly Love in their time of need.
The recognition event comes as the world marks nearly one year since the beginning of the historic relocation efforts of tens of thousands of Afghan allies from Afghanistan to the United States. Through Operation Allies Welcome, more than 25,000 of whom were welcomed through Philadelphia International Airport.
“As we approach the one year anniversary of the commencement of this extraordinary and complex operation, it is critical that we recognize the extraordinary contributions of the many resettlement and community partners, as well as city, state and federal officials involved in this historic effort,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “I am very proud that together, and with a high level of coordination occurring at PHL Airport in the last year we have had the privilege to welcome more than 25,000 evacuees. I thank all of the City departments involved as well as state and federal agencies, local hospitals, non-profit partners, volunteers and everyone who have stepped up to aid our Afghan brothers and sisters during this critical time.”
Beginning in August 2021 through March 2022, the City, through Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), coordinated Operation Allies Welcome and provided a point-of-entry location for individuals evacuated from Afghanistan. The City, along with local, state, and federal partner organizations in this effort, coordinated to provide medical assistance, housing, and connection to the diverse community of immigrant service providers who assisted with an array of social services.
“We thank everyone in the City of Philadelphia who provided extraordinary support for Operation Allies Welcome, facilitating the resettlement of tens of thousands Afghans across the United States over the past year. We especially honor the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ for living up to its name every day as the permanent home for hundreds of these Afghans and many other refugees fleeing persecution across the globe,” said Assistant Secretary Julieta Valls Noyes.
“Philadelphia International Airport’s mission is ‘Proudly connecting Philadelphia with the world’ and this was never more evident than during Operation Allies Welcome,” said City of Philadelphia Division of Aviation Interim CEO Keith Brune. “From August 28, 2021 through March 1, 2022, PHL worked with hundreds of representatives from city, state, federal and private agencies, to welcome almost 30,000 evacuees on over 300 flights. The teamwork that took place to ensure the needs of all evacuees were met– from providing interpreters and signage in their native languages to offering Halal food, a space for prayer, and activities to keep the children occupied—was awesome. The airport is proud to have been able to have had an important role in this mission.”
Notes on Terminology: Operation Allies Welcome had been previously known as Operation Allies Refuge PHL during the earlier phase of this federally-led mission.
About GLOBO
GLOBO is a health equity-focused communications provider that helps organizations communicate across languages. Providing robust data and insights through a revolutionary cloud-based platform, GLOBO HQ. GLOBO has been featured on the Inc. 500|5000 for seven consecutive years and ranked in the Top 20 of the 2021 Nimdzi Interpreting Index: Ranking of the Top Interpreting Service Providers.
