By Chris Spangler
A former Fort Atkinson couple is rescuing Afghans who helped American humanitarian efforts from likely retaliation by the Taliban.
And they’re doing it one family at a time.
Sheril Raymond and Caroline Clarin reside on 12.5 acres in Fergus Falls, Minn., where their family of two has been growing dramatically the past four years.
They moved there eight years ago after residing in Fort Atkinson from 2008-13.
“We left Wisconsin when a job opportunity opened up in Fergus Falls in 2013,” Sheril said. “We have always dreamed of living in a rural area where we could grow our food. We have three big gardens, raise hogs that we butcher ourselves, and have also raised meat chickens and have laying hens.”
Time in Fort
Fort Atkinson-area residents might recall Sheril from selling bread at the Fort Farmers Market, gaining the moniker of “the bread lady.”
She was born in Fort Atkinson, where her mother, Marilyn Raymond-Hinrichs; aunt, Maxine Crotteau; and sister, Krist Scheiwe, still live. Her father and stepmother, Kenneth and Kathy Raymond, reside in Cambridge.
Caroline’s mother, Lorraine Clarin, lives in Princeton, Minn., with several other family members in the same region.
Sheril and Caroline met at Fort Atkinson’s Cafe Carpé in 1987, and have lived together since 1988. They married in 2013.
Caroline is a U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation wetland restoration engineer. Locally, she did the engineering planning, design and construction oversight of the Jefferson Marsh, Zeloski Marsh and Mason Farm in Dorothy Carnes County Park, all in Jefferson County, and Turtle Valley in Rock County, among others, from 2001-13.
The exception was the two years in which she worked as a U.S. Department of Agriculture advisor in eastern Afghanistan, from February 2009 to March 2011.
And that’s where this story begins.
The Afghan connection
Caroline helped a dozen Afghan men plant orchards and gardens in what had been a war zone worn by drought and overgrazing.
The U.S. soldiers called the 12 college-educated agricultural specialists “Caroline’s guys,” who grew as close as a family, with Caroline considered their “second mom.”
“I served a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Paktika, Afghanistan, from Feb. 15, 2009, through March 15, 2011,” Caroline said. “I was the USDA agricultural advisor for this team, but the program was actually funded through the PRT by the U.S. military.”
In 2010, she had six teams with two Afghan agricultural trainers each, a coordinator and a livestock specialist that trained Afghans in gardening, drip irrigation, orchard establishment and management, and livestock health and management.
“These men provided this training in the war zone,” she explained. “Through this training, they helped stabilize communities, increase food availability to families, provide assistance and training masonry to line irrigation canals, build flood walls, and develop springs. All of this helped transform the area and reduce the violence.”
The Taliban tried to sabotage efforts, but that did not deter Caroline’s guys.
“These men routinely received death threats for themselves and their families from the Taliban and still continued their work,” Caroline said.
Altogether, the program trained about 5,000 farmers in Paktika from 2009-11. The fruits of their labor continue yet today.
“As a part of the program, we provided materials with the training, including seeds and trees, equipment, etc. to training participants,” Caroline said. “My successor considered these extravagant gifts and stopped providing financial support for materials, as well as the water quality projects. In addition, the PRTs were shut down as we reduced the U.S. presence in Afghanistan. The trainers still provided extension information and training after I left, but without the support of materials.”
When Caroline returned home, the team had just signed a contract that lasted until April 2012.
Nine years later, in August 2021, the United States military pulled out of Afghanistan, ending the longest war in the nation’s history. While the new government vowed it would not retaliate against Afghans who helped the U.S. there, Caroline knows otherwise.
She has assisted getting five of her former team members and their families into the U.S. since 2017, while Sheril has helped them rebuild their lives here.
“We have successfully brought five of the 12 guys and their families to the U.S.,” Caroline said, noting that the men’s average age is 35. “Three families came to Fergus Falls; one went to Austin, Texas; and one to El Cajon, Calif.”
All told, 10 adults and 24 children have emigrated, and three more children have been born in the United States.
Meanwhile back in Afghanistan, things have become more dire, with winter arriving and foot shortages growing.
“All the guys left behind would like to emigrate,” Caroline said. “They live in extreme danger in Afghanistan because they worked for the U.S. government as trainers employed by the Provincial Reconstruction Team.
“They all face the threat of death by Taliban for working with the U.S.,” she continued. “Several have to move from house to house to avoid being found, and some have had to move where nobody knows them by face and name. They are all in hiding.”
She added that people without current passports must apply for them through the Afghan government.
“There is no formal UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) support for Afghan refugees in Pakistan, so there is no way to get refugees for legal status in the U.S.,” Caroline said.
She explained that the U.S. evacuation has been going very slowly, so people have had to find a way out of Afghanistan and support themselves in another country until their U.S. visa processing is complete.
And that could take 12 to 14 months.
“They have no money to do this. That is why we are trying to raise money to help support them and pay for passport fees and transportation costs,” Caroline said.
Around her day job from some 6,800 miles away, she has been busy writing letters of recommendation, completing humanitarian parole applications, and sending thousands of dollars for fees, support and travel expenses.
“I send emails for SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) case updates and communicate directly with my senator’s office for formal case inquiries,” she added.
The biggest problems she is facing are financial, as money is needed to provide the Afghans with food, rent, airfare and visa fees.
“When our first family came, we were able to reach out to friends, family and Grace United Church to help fund plane tickets and basic items the families needed,” Caroline said, noting that they were able to raise half the cost of airline tickets.
“Honestly, we never kept track of the money until this year when we needed to raise larger amounts to help those left behind,” she said. “Since May 2021, we have used $10,000 — this includes airfare for our most recent family — of our own funds and continue to receive donations to help with upcoming expenses needed for those left behind.”
That includes, but is not limited to, food, rent, anticipated airline tickets and living expenses in Pakistan until the U.S. sorts out paperwork, money for visas and passports as needed, and more.
“As far as the money we use for the families that are already here, they are our family, so if they need something, we do our best to take care of it,” she said.
Work on the Homefront
Caroline still is employed with USDA-NRCS as a wetland restoration engineer, so Sheril has been taking care of things on the homefront, helping the Afghan families get settled.
“The first two families that arrived in Fergus Falls lived with us for three months each,” Caroline said.
“Sheril arranges and organizes all necessary appointments and fills out all applicable paperwork, which include doctor visits; Human Services and Workforce Development; enrolling kids in school; helping to get driver’s licenses; keeping up to date on immigration rules; arranging ESL (English as a Second Language) classes; setting up bank accounts; getting insurance figured out; and being an advocate.”
After the fathers, she also is a second contact for the children’s medical and school emergencies until the mothers are comfortable enough with their English.
“In addition, Sheril helps families understand our cultural differences, our basic laws and societal norms,” Caroline said. “It is a full-time job for the first three months of entry to the U.S. Having an advocate has been beneficial to the families.”
Contributions appreciated
Caroline and Sheril spent much of their own savings toward rescuing their friends, and they raised $16,383 via GoFundMe, as well. However, they were forced to close the latter account when they only were allowed to transfer funds to a 501C. Also, GoFundMe takes a significant percentage that they rather would use to help their Afghan allies.
A friend with a 501C was kind enough to work out “grant money” for Sheril and Caroline to receive the donations raised by that platform, but they reached the limit for 2021-22.
Thus, they now are accepting contributions via the banking app Zelle at 218-405-0133 or by checks sent to: Caroline Clarin, 30045 W. Stalker Road, Dalton, MN 56324.
“We have set up a separate bank account specifically for these funds so all money is tracked separate from our personal funds,” Caroline said.
“I would like to thank everyone who has supported us on this journey,” Sheril added. “We could not have done this without help from family and friends and even strangers who have reached out. The kindness and generosity of others is heartwarming.”
Do unto others
As for their own kindness and generosity, Caroline said that she and Sheril are happy to do whatever they can to help her former Afghan teammates.
“We have always lived a life of service to others,” she said. “Sheril’s life motto has been ‘Treat others as you want to be treated.’”
“When I think about the daunting situation our Afghan families face, I put myself in their shoes the best I can and I know I would want someone to help me navigate, have words of encouragement, and take me in as family,” Sheril said. “And so I will continue to do this for others because I have been blessed in this life and will give back.”
And, she pointed out, she and Caroline have reaped as much as they have sown.
“I also feel extremely blessed to have learned about a culture other than my own, and as a person who loves to cook, I have learned, and continue to learn, from my Afghan sisters in the kitchen,” Sheril said, adding that Afghans have been given the title of No. 1 in hospitality. “I have also learned the value of sharing a meal and tea beyond the food itself.”
When they left Fort Atkinson four years ago, neither Sheril nor Caroline ever expected their lives to change so much, and so quickly. But they are grateful — albeit physically and mentally taxed — to be able to share their blessings.
“Helping Afghans left behind has come with an emotional price for both of us,” Sheril acknowledged. “Knowing our friends and family continue to live in extreme danger that most of us cannot even fathom can be very hard on the heart.
“So we will do whatever it takes,” she vowed, to bring them to America.
Caroline Clarin, at right, enjoys time on the farm with one of several Afghan families she and her wife, Sheril Raymond, not pictured, have helped settle in America.
Caroline Clarin, at right, shares a moment with an Afghan friend.
Caroline Clarin, at left, teaches an Afghan friend how to maneuver a lawn tractor.
Food. “I also feel extremely blessed to have learned about a culture other than my own, and as a person who loves to cook, I have learned, and continue to learn, from my Afghan sisters in the kitchen,” Sheril Raymond said.
Caroline Clarin and Sheril Raymond.
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