Organizers say a donation drive this weekend for newly arriving Afghani refugees was more successful than expected. Imam Ossama Bahloul of the Islamic Center of Nashville says people of diverse faith backgrounds showed up in droves to drop off personal items Saturday.
The drop-off location on 12th Avenue South was busy from start to finish, he said.
Saturday was also 20th anniversary of 9/11. And Bahloul said his congregation marked it with a day of service as a way of bringing together the community on the anniversary of the tragic events.
“We have a choice to make. We have the choice to feel like we are victims. But we have the choice to be part of the solution. We choose to be part of the solution,” Bahloul said. “When we act together we can guarantee a better future for all.”
Courtesy Ossama Bahloul Boxes of donated personal items line the wall in a room at the Islamic Center of Nashville.
He emphasized how powerful it felt to see people of many religions coming together for a common cause. “You can feel it that we are really brothers and sisters.”
Bahloul says he expects people who fled Afghanistan to begin arriving in Tennessee in the coming weeks. Now he’s helping coordinate efforts to support their needs and cultural differences as they restart their lives in a new country. He says he already has people asking to help with additional supplies, employment and transportation.
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