Get Zaki and his family out of Afghanistan

My name is Major Ben Taggart USMC. I served as an Afghanistan Hand (AfPak Hands) from 2013 to 2018. I have three combat tours in Afghanistan and I am currently deployed to the Horn of Africa. I’m using my ex-wife’s home address as my own until I move to DC at the end of this deployment. I will provide that address when asked. I can be verified as a real person at Facebook: flymarinesch46, and Instagram at Taggart.Ben and whatsyourcallsign.

I would like to raise at least $5,000 for Zaki and his family so they can purchase safe travel to Pakistan ($800 per person) as well incidentals for travel. In Pakistan they can begin the process for a P1/P2 application. They cannot do so in Afghanistan.

I will transfer the money to Zaki via OPRECO (formerly Task Force Pineapple) via Zaki’s conductor and shepherd.

Zaki served in the Afghan National Army and was a patriot. I can’t use his full name as he is in hiding from the Taliban. The picture associated with this account was taken outside of HKIA during the mass evacuation in August 2021. He and his family are also Hazara, which adds additional danger to their situation. Zaki and I worked together at an Afghan Ministry where I served as an advisor. He stood out as a dedicated soldier with an excellent command of English and a great sense of humor, which he often showed off in the face of his own government’s short comings. I offered many times to try to help he and his family get visas before the fall, but he refused because he said he needed to stay and fight for his country. He is a good man, a great father and a loving husband. His situation in Kabul is incredibly dire, as it is for many, but especially for him because he and his family are being hunted and his Hazara ethnicity makes him vulnerable to being revealed at any moment. My country, and myself, failed in Afghanistan. We’ve abandoned good people who trusted us. All I want from this whole mess is to get Zaki and his family out. I’ll do anything I can to help them. Please help if you can spare some change. This isn’t for a charity or a non-profit. This is for four real human beings who deserve a better chance than the world is offering them right now. All of them will make great Americans one day. I can promise you that!

Sincerely,

Ben “Lobo” Taggart