Photo By Staff Sgt. Christina Westover | Spc. Kiyana Santamaria, left, an Army motor transport operator, and Spc. Jessica...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas - Moving to a new city or state can be stressful. Moving to a new country with new laws and different cultural norms where the language is unfamiliar can be even more nerve-racking. Soldiers serving on female engagement teams at Fort Bliss’ Doña Ana Complex in New Mexico are working hard to ensure Afghan females get the assistance needed to navigate their transition to the United States as part of Operation Allies Welcome.
2nd Lt. Grace Nielson, a military intelligence officer with the 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, says the female engagement teams serve as liaisons between Afghan females and the OAW team.
“We understand for females it's not necessarily common for them to approach male soldiers, or have male soldiers approach them. So to make it easier for them, we provide these female liaisons and personnel so that they can approach us with any issues that they have, any concerns, and just building that community outreach with the females and families in Doña Ana Complex.”
Due to the language barrier between the FET and the female evacuees, there are translators available across the area to help them as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“To overcome the language barrier, we just find someone who does speak their language,” said Spc. Kiyana Santamaria, an Army motor transport operator with 377th Transportation Company, 142nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss. “We do have interpreters available at all times, so we just grab them, pull them to the side and let them know we need help with this specific guest.”
One of the concerns raised to the female engagement team was that women did not have the specific hygiene items needed. While the medical tents have feminine hygiene products, they did not have the specific products female evacuees used. The team went to their command to ensure those items were provided in the tents located throughout the complex.
“The females have come up to us, asking us if we're able to get them certain feminine products, and we've passed it up through the chain of command to get them,” said Santamaria. “We now have a station set up with the medics so they are able to get those products.”
The FET also started hosting female community engagements each Thursday so women of the community can gather and discuss concerns and cultural differences among the group. There is also community engagement with males and females on Mondays to discuss family concerns.
“During these meetings, we hope to kind of bridge any miscommunication, as well as educate people and kind of let them know like, hey, these are the rules here,” said Nielson. “These are laws within the United States, as well as cultural norms that we want you to understand. So far, it's been relatively positive. We've seen a lot of improvement in terms of engagement with not only females approaching the FET, but also males as well.”
The sessions are focused on differences in their clothing based on age and the region they came from. They also discuss domestic issues and how to report it, and other prominent concerns.
“We've built enough rapport with them, and a level of trust,” Nielsen said. “They come to us because they know that we're going to help them. All the females on the FET understand the mission and they're very passionate about it. They want to help.”
FET duties for soldiers are much different than their usual daily duties, but they continue to assist the Afghan evacuee women, helping with the transition process of becoming a U.S. citizen.
“I'm glad to be a part of something like a female engagement team,” said Santamaria. “We all have the same mindset. We're here to make these guests’ lives better, their living situation better, and their mindset better. I've seen a lot of changes in the guests here. So we're all here for the same mission. I'm just glad to be able to be a part of the change and help them transition to become U.S. citizens.”
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2021 20:10 |
| Story ID: | 405041 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 626 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Female Engagement Team provides community outreach, by SSG Christina Westover, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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