With births and a beauty salon, Afghan 'guests' transform U.S. base

FILE PHOTO: A structure housing Afghan evacuees is seen at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, which has surged housing and supplies to host more than 9,300 Afghans awaiting resettlement in the United States, September 27, 2021. REUTERS/Phil Stewart

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, New Jersey (Reuters) - It could be the happy moments, like news of the 24 babies born here or last weekend's wedding. Or maybe it's talk of the trauma among evacuees or the Afghans picking through clothes on folding tables after losing absolutely everything.

But there's a sense that life's events, in all of their complexity, are simply unfolding for the over 9,300 Afghan evacuees who have come to call this U.S. military base in New Jersey home over the past month or so - and who may be here for some time.