The roughly 24 students and 16 adults from California stranded in the Kabul area are “scared” and “trapped,” said a spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican, adding that the Biden administration “has been too slow to manage this crisis.”
The students and their parents traveled to Afghanistan to visit extended family, said Howard Shen, the Cajon Valley Union School District Family and Community Engagement media contact, in a statement.
“Congressman Issa and staff are aware of the location of several American citizens, and we have been in direct and consistent contact with them,” Jonathan Wilcox, Issa’s communications director, told the Washington Examiner.
STUDENTS AND PARENTS FROM CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DISTRICT STRANDED IN AFGHANISTAN AMID TALIBAN TAKEOVER
The situation is fluid, but Issa has spoken with the stranded Americans through voice contact, he said.
“They are scared, stranded, and trapped in the Kabul area,” he said. “I know the president and his press secretary have said this isn’t happening, but that’s dead wrong.”
At least 24 students from El Cajon are stranded in Afghanistan. I’m working diligently to determine the best ways to help those trapped return home safely. I won’t stop until we have answers and action.https://t.co/MaXf3yFg29
— Darrell Issa (@DarrellIssa) August 25, 2021
Families began to reach out to community liaisons on Aug. 16 as the crisis started to develop “to hold their children’s spots in their classrooms while they were stranded in Afghanistan,” Shen said.
Issa is working to confirm visas, passports, and other documents for the Americans surrounded by the Taliban, Wilcox said.
“We are in consistent contact with official channels, including the State Department and the Pentagon, as well as on the ground in Afghanistan,” he said.
The Family and Community Engagement Office is working with Issa’s team and began to gather a “comprehensive list” of all Cajon Valley students known to be in Afghanistan, Shen said.
Issa’s office has “been incredibly supportive in the attempt to bring these families home,” he said. “The East County San Diego community and district staff continue to send positive thoughts and well wishes to all of our families as we await their safe return.”
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Issa is “urging everyone to take emergency action because, so far, the [Biden] administration has been too slow to manage this crisis,” Wilcox said.
