Help Shir Zad's family in VA from Afghanistan!

In Shir Zad's words...

Who am I? (more at the bottom)

My name is Shir Zad. I’m a 26-year-old refugee from Afghanistan who fled to the US in September 2021. I speak Dari, Pashto, Hindi, Urdu and English. I live with my wife in Elizabeth NJ, working to help other refugees from Afghanistan. My family and I are very grateful to anyone who takes an interest in this page and might consider donating.

Why I’m asking for help?

I am desperate to help my family as they are suffering greatly from the current economic and political crisis in Afghanistan. The biggest issue is their life is currently at risk due to their service in the former Afghan government. The past 20 years of war have been incredibly difficult and painful for my family: the Taliban tortured my brother because he voted; during a massive attack on Kabul university, one of my brothers was severely injured and hospitalized for more than a year. We lost hope of him staying alive, but he is still under treatment. My sister cannot go to school, and it's terrible for us to imagine her growing up not being able to read or write. There are thousands of such saddening stories happening in every Afghan family.

Being a refugee, I have experienced severe trauma, pain, and anxiety, but I never lost hope. There are good people all over the world. Realizing the situation, I work to help other refugees because I feel the pain they are going through, and I feel satisfied and proud when I help bring smiles to their faces. This was not the work I had planned to be doing right now, but I’m happy to be doing it during this time.

I must move my family to a safer place ( the US eventually, I hope), but they must leave Afghanistan and move to the third country to process their case. I know how to make this happen, the forms, the system, the timeline and budget, but I need the funds. Both my wife and I are working hard, but our money is going to rent, car insurance, food and we are both sending small funds home to help our family survive the insane situation. My ultimate dream right now is to help my family move to a place where they don’t have to live in anxiety, depression, fear, danger and pain. For anyone who can give anything to help I will always keep you in my prayers and I promise to God that at any point in time I will help anyone who is in need.

The Budget

I have spent a lot of time figuring out how to get my family to safety and I understand how to get it done and have friends who have successfully done this with their family members. I would love to share all the information and details with you, but that is not safe in the current situation (We also removed the name of third country from video) so I can try to give a summary this way. To get my 10 family members out I need money for many plane tickets, fees, forms, visas, services,, housing, living expenses and to buy them time to get settled and find work.

Once they move to the third country (One day I hope to bring them from that country to the US), The process can take more than a year. They need to have shelter and some savings till the time they find some jobs in third country. The new govt is not recognized by other countries, this way many countries close their air territory on Afghanistan. My family will need to get connected flights to reach the third country and that costs a lot more than a normal ticket.

Passports have fees and visa also has fees. In current situation visas are not always granted in first attempt and people often need to apply a second or third time with additional fees to get their visas. After moving them to the third country the process can take more than 6 months requiring them to extend their visas which requires more fees.

I cannot believe it would be possible to raise funds here for us, but my friends tell me this could happen. Thank you so much for visiting my page, even if you cannot afford to donate I appreciate you reading a small piece of my story and hope you will share it with friends and family. I’m getting my parents out as well as my siblings and their families and they all thank you for taking time and considering to help as well.

A bit more about me (if you’re interested).

I love the diversity of cultures here in the US and believe that America is a land of opportunity where you can achieve whatever goal you have and I have met many incredible kind people here. I miss the gatherings in my community. I miss how every late afternoon teenage boys gather in the park and chit chat. If we found one of our neighbors are sick or in need of help we all would get some fresh fruits and visit them at their home and see how we can help them. I miss the smell of different dishes all around the city few minutes before breaking our fast during Ramadan month. I miss the way we Afghans greet each other and ask so many questions during greetings and the hospitality of our community. Afghans offer the best food and most comfortable place to sit for the guests. I miss eating dinner in a big plate (all members eating from one big plate with bare hands). In AFG neighbors are closer to heart than relatives who live farther. In each and every event we prioritize our neighbors and always share meals together (preferably dinners). My favorite food in AFG is Qabuli Palaw (rice with carrot, almond and beef/mutton) and in the US my favorite food is mix veg pizza.

My ultimate goal someday is to become a diplomat in the State Department. I have bachelors degree in political science and Economics. Postgraduate diploma in Military Studies and Defense Management. It is difficult being a refugee torn away from home and family. Some parts get easier with time. We pray for our family and friends still there under the Taliban and work towards making a good life here while hoping we can return home someday soon.

Thank you so much for visiting this page. Thanks so much to Mandy, Kathryn and Gideon for their friendship and for sharing my story and need. If anyone has any questions, please reach out to me through this campaign, and I will do my best to answer any questions I can. I know it is a long shot that I can raise this money here, but we are praying it can work out or at least greatly help me bring my family to safety.

Note from organizer 

Hello, 

My name is Gideon Grody-Patinkin. I am raising money for my friend Shir Zad Sarbaz, who me and my family met through working to support refugees in the US. He is settled here now with all the required documents to receive the funds and they will be used to help 10 of his immediate family members acquire passports, visas, forms and fees, flights and ground transportation, housing, food and essentials as they arrive to safety in the new country. Shir Zad has requested this country not currently be named as it is a security risk for his family with the current behavior of the Taliban. It is not the US though he hopes that they can someday relocate to the US with him.