Operation Magic Carpet
Donation protected
Operation Magic Carpet Emergency Appeal for People and Animals
This is a crowdfunding appeal to help fund the ongoing costs of maintaining 92 women, children and men with their dogs and cats that were evacuated from Afghanistan to Pakistan in a unique humanitarian rescue mission, Operation Magic Carpet (see press pieces below).
We are looking to raise over £50,000 to meet the monthly accommodation, food, utilities, medical bills and animal care costs for the evacuation group from January to March 2022. These funds are critically important for supporting both people and animals as we seek a safe permanent country for them to call home.
We are looking to raise over £50,000 to meet the monthly accommodation, food, utilities, medical bills and animal care costs for the evacuation group from January to March 2022. These funds are critically important for supporting both people and animals as we seek a safe permanent country for them to call home.
Managing funds raised
The volunteers behind Operation Magic Carpet will oversee all aspects of raising and distributing funds to the individuals on the ground in Pakistan, through the team at World Trade Center Gibraltar, a Member of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA), acting voluntarily.
Any funds exceeding the ongoing requirements of Operation Magic Carpet will be donated to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Any funds exceeding the ongoing requirements of Operation Magic Carpet will be donated to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Background on Operation Magic Carpet
Vets and pets evacuated from Afghanistan, bringing with them military and security specialists, in Operation Magic Carpet
60 former staff members and their dependents of international arm of the animal welfare charity ‘Mayhew London’ (for which Meghan Markle is a Patron) were evacuated from Afghanistan to Pakistan at the end of November, as part of Operation Magic Carpet, one of the largest privately funded humanitarian evacuation missions undertaken since the American-led withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of August.
The group which included 13 men and women veterinarians also brought their dogs and cats with them in what is believed to be the only land-based evacuation of companion animals from Afghanistan since the Taliban regained control of the country. The companion animals provided unconditional support for the evacuation families throughout the ordeal they faced.
In addition to the former Mayhew staff and family members, the evacuation group involved 32 other people including business executives, former military and security specialists and their families, all of which were at risk under the Taliban regime.
Operation Magic Carpet has evacuated in total 92 people, including 30 women and 32 children, together with their dogs and cats.
A 90-year-old woman believed to be the oldest person to escape Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover was part of the evacuation group and a baby girl was born during the evacuation into Pakistan.
Operation Magic Carpet was the result of unique collaboration between a small group of dedicated volunteers based in Britain, Europe and the Middle East, united by a common sense of compassion and humanity.
British-based animal welfare campaigner Dominic Dyer, internationally recognised for his work to evacuate Pen Farthing and his Nowzad employees and animals from Kabul in August played a leading role in the rescue operation working alongside a British vet and a Jerusalem-based translator. A Gibraltar-based lawyer and World Trade Center Gibraltar also played a key role in raising the significant level of funds required to mount the operation.
Following an urgent rescue appeal, the substantial funding for Operation Magic Carpet came from two sisters, one living in Gibraltar and the other in India, both of whom felt a deep connection with the plight of Afghan refugees based on their own father’s history. The donation was made to honour the life of their late beloved mother.
Businessman and owner of the World Trade Center Gibraltar, Gregory Butcher, also generously helped finance part of the operation along with several private individuals from Britain and the United States.
The complex and dangerous evacuation took over two months to complete during a period which has seen Afghanistan spiral into escalating violence and economic collapse. The growing threat of widespread famine, made all the more desperate with the approach of winter, puts the survival of millions of Afghan citizens at risk according to UN reports. The evacuation from Afghanistan was co-ordinated by a US-based humanitarian rescue specialist Moti Kahana.
All 92 evacuees put their faith and trust in a group of complete strangers living thousands of miles away, people they have never met. Fearing for their lives, in a country on the brink of disintegration, they packed a single bag each, left their homes and everything they knew behind them and went into hiding.
Now safer in Pakistan, the 92 people and their companion animals will be securely accommodated in Islamabad, while plans are made for moving them to a permanent home in Britain, Canada, or other nations around the world.
Links to media coverage
https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/conversation-between-british-jewish-translator-and-vet-helps-rescue-of-92-afghans/
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-696765
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-696765
https://www.vettimes.co.uk/news/uk-vet-masterminds-operation-magic-carpet-to-rescue-afghan-counterparts/
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/distressed-by-plight-of-afghan-refugees-indian-sisters-pay-for-92-people-their-pets-to-be-evacuated-out-of-kabul/articleshow/88214634.cms
Organizer and beneficiary
Dominic Dyer
Organizer
England
Graham Stirling
Beneficiary