KarunaNews Story

The Afghan staff of a US-affiliated research project are safe in Albania. Seventy-five people - 23 scientists and staff of the GRAIN project affiliated with Michigan State University and their families were evacuated after frantic efforts by the university and Rep. Elissa Slotkin. GRAIN, a $15.5 million program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, trained wheat specialists and placed 33 studentsincluding 12 womenin graduate programs. In August, administrators at MSU and other U.S. institutions lobbied U.S. diplomats, military officials, and members of Congress for help. Slotkin helped them get airport access for the team and find refuge for them in Albania, which has accepted hundreds of Afghan refugees as their papers are processed.