Help two Afghan students support their families!

Two friends of ours, Zahra and M, urgently need funding to support themselves and their families in Afghanistan. Zahra and M are college students and sole providers for their families amid Afghanistan's ongoing political and economic crises. 

Zahra is a 20-year-old student seeking to continue her university studies while supporting her family. Zahra's education is extremely important to her and she is motivated to finish her degree in English literature despite her current circumstances. Zahra's mother has recently become ill, and her father can no longer work due to his age. As a result, she is her family's only capable breadwinner and, due to her country's political situation, can no longer leave the house to work or attend school. Zahra is seeking money to pay for food, her mother's medical needs, and to continue in her studies.
 
M, who has asked that we not use his name, is another university student who needs funding to take the Test English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. Passing this test and earning a TOEFL certificate has been one of his educational goals for a long time and would afford him many work opportunities, increasing his ability to support his family. M needs money to cover the costs of preparation for the exam, the exam fee, and to help support his family during his studies.

Since the Taliban's takeover of the Afghan government in August 2021, life for women and ethnic minorities has become increasingly dangerous. Our friends Zahra and M belong to the Hazara people, an ethnic minority in Afghanistan that has faced years of violence, genocide, and ethnic cleansing. Zahra sent a message to describe her situation; in the following transcript Zahra addresses recent bombings and attacks on the Hazara people that have seriously threatened their families and community:

 

"Hello everyone. I'm here to address the recent traumatizing suicide attacks on Hazara people and the obvious massacre and bloodshed that are designed to aggress our people. Hazaras, being one of the ethnic minorities in Afghanistan, have always been subject to cruelty, misery, and being victimized. Hazaras have always been the pride of the country but sadly, as witnessed, they are being discriminated against, tortured, and exterminated for no reason. An example of this goes back to 20 years ago when gunmen stopped two passengers' cars, then invited them into groups based on their ID cards. They shot at the Hazara people and let the others go. Purposeful attacks on Hazara people have increased in the following years. Attacks on educational centers, mosques, wedding halls, hospitals, and their recent attack on Sayed al-Shuhada school was one of the most serious and deadly attacks that revealed the mysteries of how these ruthless, bloodthirsty animals don't and won't respect education. And for that matter, the lives of small innocent children whose only sin, was one thing: to put pen to paper, and help their nation grow.

All these attacks on Hazara people show that the perpetrators of such attacks have identified their target and the people are killed based on their ethnic identity. So, when an ethnic group is deliberately attacked upon because of their religion and ethnic group, this type of crime is different, which risks genocide and ethnic cleansing. Unfortunately, Hazara people have always faced genocide throughout the history of Afghanistan. Therefore, we need to work to understand, to feel us, our pain, our suffering, and to help put an end to these cowardly attacks."

Donations will be sent directly to Zahra and M via money transfer and will greatly alleviate their stresses as the sole providers in their respective families. 

 

If you wish to learn more about the Hazara people and their situation in Afghanistan, please visit the following links:

https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2022/06/high-commissioner-updates-human-rights-council-afghanistan

https://minorityrights.org/minorities/hazaras/

 

Please consider further donations to the Afghan community by reaching out to the refugee community in your area, donating to rescue aid organizations such as the IRC (https://help.rescue.org/donate), and by using these resources to stay updated on the situation in Afghanistan, specifically that of women and ethnic minorities such as the Hazara people. 

 

Image used: Girls arrive at their school in Kabul on March 23, 2022 / Ahmad Sahel Arman / AFP via Getty Images. https://newlinesmag.com/wp-content/uploads/AfghanistanGirlSchoolweb.jpg