Help Save Dozens of Afghan friends

Please help me save the brave Afghan men and women who kept me safe when I was working there.  They are in grave danger now!!

When I took the picture above in 2003 in Afghanistan (I was there as an aid worker), I didn't realize then how prescient it was.

 

I befriended many amazing Afghans in those years. Since the Taliban take-over, I have heard from four of them who worked for the Americans.  Nasim, my driver, and Reshad, my engineer, who kept me safe as we drove through the countryside. Abdullah, who worked with battered women. Hamida,  a brave female journalist who worked for an American media non-profit.  They're writing, begging me to rescue them from certain death at the hands of the Taliban.

 

To live, these brave men and women and their families must leave Afghanistan as soon as possible!

 

I’ve submitted their documentation for Special Immigrant Visas, but the process is backlogged for years. Meanwhile, they are hiding in their homes, worried about a visit from the Taliban.

 

Through a process called HUMANITARIAN PAROLE, they could come to the United States within weeks or months and live here in safety while they wait for their visas. The application fee is $575 per person. In order to save my friends and colleagues and their spouses and children, who will surely be killed by the Taliban if they stay in Afghanistan much longer, I need to raise $16,100 to get them (28 people - including 9 children) safely to the US.

 

Please help out if you can with what you can -- time is very much of the essence! 100% of donations will go towards application fees for Humanitarian Parole. On behalf of Hamida, Nasim, Reshad and Abdullah, thank you!