Afghans who fled the Taliban are still waiting for places to 'call homes of their own' as they resettle in the US

• Afghans entering the US are trying to acclimate and rebuild their lives in a new country.
• Dr. Afghani Roshan, a physician who provides medical screenings for evacuees resettling in the US, told Insider they're thinking of ways to start over as soon as they land.

Since July, about 70,000 Afghan evacuees have traveled to the United States to resettle, many of them fleeing the Taliban, which took over Afghanistan in August following President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw US troops from the region.

In its takeover, the Taliban renamed the country the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, reverting back to the same name used during the last time the regime held power, in 1996. The regime remained in power until 2001, after the US invaded Afghanistan.

Immediately after the takeover, Afghans packed into cargo planes, scrambling to leave the country. Many were so desperate to leave that they clung onto a moving plane at the Kabul airport before plummeting to the ground.

Afghans who were able to leave the country have been entering the US, searching for ways to acclimate and rebuild their lives, according to Dr. Afghani Roshan, a physician with the Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania who for weeks has been volunteering to help resettlement efforts.

"They have been through a traumatic, unfortunate tragic circumstances. Their lives have been turned upside down," said Roshan, who's oftentimes the first person to greet them when they get off the plane at the Philadelphia International Airport. "Coming to a whole new environment, country, a place with a different cultural background. They're scared, they're timid. I think it's an overall sense of an unknown future."

Roshan provides medical screening for the Afghan evacuees who arrive in Pennsylvania. During those screenings, she greets them in Pashto, one of the two official languages in Afghanistan. Her own parents completed the same journey these evacuees did, having fled Afghanistan in the 1980s during a period of turmoil under the Soviet occupation and resettling in the US.

Some of the evacuees Roshan has spoken to were people with significant education and career backgrounds in Afghanistan. They worked in the medical field, for example, and left behind that prominence to avoid the economic devastation that's expected to come under the Taliban regime.

After they get through the medical screening with Roshan and exit the airport, the evacuees are sent to random military bases around the country.

"They're likely going to be there for months to even possibly a year before anything is established and they are able to integrate into the communities and have places to stay and call homes of their own," Roshan said. "It hits them when they get here and they realize how far away from home they are and from their families and loved ones. Processing that is hard."

Evacuees tell Roshan they're exhausted from "traveling for weeks and weeks."

In some cases, it might take months for them to arrive in the US due to security screenings that hold them up, according to the Wall Street Journal. Countries across the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Latin America have offered temporary shelter for evacuees as they wait for admission to clear, the WSJ reported.

The State Department and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on the timeline of the resettlement process or how long it takes Afghan evacuees to come to the US.

Those who arrive in Pennsylvania have so far told Roshan that they're hopeful of a better future in the US.

As soon as they land, they ask how to enroll their kids in school, Roshan said.

Each of the tens of thousands of refugees could get up to $2,275 from the Department of Homeland Security to support resettlement needs. And the DHS on Friday announced that it would waive fees for Afghans seeking work permits and US residency.

"You can tell on their faces, and they verbalized it quite a few times to everyone that they meet, that they're grateful for everybody's support," Roshan said.