Tag: Afghanistan

Last Updated: August 27, 2021 

In the wake of the U.S. withdrawal, the Taliban have taken every major city in Afghanistan as of Sunday, August 15, 2021. This is a death spell for many vulnerable communities. While we feel despair, we also recognize the possibilities for mobilization and solidarity in this current moment. And as we navigate to help our friends and family, we have compiled this resource list with a few action items that we urge you to consider and share widely. 

Most urgently, we ask that you and us and all of us contact our representatives to ask that the quotas for refugees from Afghanistan to the US be increased to a level that can meet the demand. Many Americans are also offering their houses as safe havens for the refugees. We will update the list below as the situation changes on the ground and as we find new, accurate information. 

Note: This is not an exhaustive or complete list of resources but ones that we at AAAWA are familiar with and rely on. However, these are good starting points and we hope to more intentionally amplify the work of diasporic and Afghanistan-based artists, activists, and writers in the coming months.

CONGRESSIONAL CALLS TO ACTION 

1. Call your representatives using the suggested language compiled by Afghans For a Better Tomorrow and Alexandra Millatmal: bit.ly/call4AFG
   
2. Sign this petition from Afghans For a Better Tomorrow: https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/president-biden-must-support-the-most-vulnerable-in-afghanistan-as-part-of-the-withdrawal-plan 
   
3. Sign this petition from Daily Kos, Liberation League, and MPower Change: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-provide-humanitarian-aid-and-ensure-safe-accessible-refuge-for-afghans
    
4. Email your representatives using the letter here: mobilize4change.org/HajzrdS 

FUNDRAISERS FOR VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES 

1. Emergency Funds for Afghan Artists, organized by AAAWA: https://www.gofundme.com/f/emergency-funds-for-afghan-artists  
   
2. International Rescue Committee: https://www.rescue.org/country/afghanistan
   
3. Emergency Help for LGBTQ Afghans in Afghanistan, organized by Qais Munhazim: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-queer-and-trans-afghans-in-afghanistan  
   
4. Afghanistan: A call for urgent help, organized by Omar Haidari: https://www.gofundme.com/f/bjben-afghanistan-a-call-for-urgent-help
   
5. Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontiers): https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/countries/afghanistan

VISA/IMMIGRATION RELIEF RESOURCES AND INFORMATION 

The Artistic Freedom Initiative is currently accepting applications from at-risk artists for assistance with seeking temporary and permanent residence in the United States: https://artisticfreedominitiative.org/apply-for-assistance/ 

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) shares a variety of resources regarding evacuation of Afghans from Afghanistan: https://refugees.org/resources-for-afghan-allies/

The Refugee Processing Center (RPC), operated by the U.S Department of State (DOS) Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) in the Rosslyn section of Arlington, Virginia USA, shares information and forms the for P-2 and SIV programs for Afghans: https://www.wrapsnet.org/ 

Unofficial Wiki page detailing options regarding visas for Afghans: https://visasforafghans.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Immigration Relief for Afghans info sheet (compiled by the Afghan Diaspora for Equality and Progress or ADEP): https://bit.ly/ADEPimmigrationrelief

DIGITAL SECURITY FOR AFGHAN NATIONALS 

Afghanistan Digital Security Tips (including a fact sheet by Human Rights First on how to delete your digital history): https://docs.google.com/document/d/14OPib3rPTM41o0_QNo0sA3_-m1ACjWx-8f4m8kyS2aM/edit 

Article 26 Backpack Project hosted by the University of California, Davis offers a way to safely upload your academic documents onto cloud servers hosted by UC Davis: https://human-rights.ucdavis.edu/news/afghanistan-emergency-resource-information  

VOLUNTEER 

Help Afghans who worked with Canadian forces: https://cdainstitute.ca/afghanrefugees/ 

D.C. Area: Help assist resettled Afghans: https://lssnca.org/take_action/afghan-allies.html 

Support incoming Afghan allies: https://lirsconnect.org/get_involved/action_center/siv 

Support incoming resettled Afghan families: https://worldrelief.org/triad/get-involved/afghan-allies/ 

ADVOCACY INFORMATION

Afghan Diaspora for Equality & Progress: https://adeprogress.org/ 

Afghans For a Better Tomorrow: https://www.weareafghans.org/ 

Afghan American Foundation: https://www.afghanamericans.org/ 

Afghan-American Coalition: https://afghanamericancoalition.com/ 

Afghanistan Needs You linktree: https://linktr.ee/AfghanistanNeedsYou 

Afghan Diaspora Hub – for direct actions & donations: https://www.afgdiasporahub.com/ 

HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS

Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC): https://aihrc.org.af/ 

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA): https://unama.unmissions.org/  

Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization (AHRDO): https://ahrdo.org/ 

AFGHANISTAN-BASED NEWS ORGANIZATIONS 

The Killid Group @TheKillidGroup 
Pajhwok Afghan News @pajhwok 
ATN Ariana News @ArianaTVN
TOLO News @TOLOnews

INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS TO FOLLOW 

@adeprogress
@afghansforabettertomorrow
@afghansinsolidarity
@afghanamericanfnd
@afghanamericancoalition
@emran.feroz
@equalitylabs 
@swanalosangeles
@wiseafghanistan

TWITTER ACCOUNTS TO FOLLOW 

@sahraakarimi
@ShaharzadAkbar
@afghansinsolidarity
@BilalSarwary
@alibomaye
@BBCSanaSafi
@EmrooPhotos
@aaolomi

RECOMMENDED READINGS

EDITORIALS:

Ebtikar, Munazza. 2020. A Critique of Knowledge Production About Afghanistan, Afghanistan Center at Kabul University

Olomi, Ali A. 2021. The U.S. Replicated Crucial Flaws from the Past in Afghanistan, The Washington Post

Osman, Wazhmah. 2021. The History of the Taliban in Afghanistan, NPR

Hanifi, Shah Mahmoud. 2021. “Quandaries of the Afghan Nation.” In Under the Drones: Modern Lives in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Borderlands. Crews, Robert and Shahzad Bashir, eds. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

BOOKS:

Manchanda, Nivi. 2020. Imagining Afghanistan: The History and Politics of Imperial Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

Osman, Wazhmah. 2020. Television and the Afghan Culture Wars: Brought to You by Foreigners, Warlords, and Activists. Urbana (IL): University of Illinois Press. 

Bose, Purnima. 2020. Intervention Narratives: Afghanistan, the United States, and the Global War on Terror. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

Crews, Robert. 2015. Afghan Modern: The History of a Global Nation. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.