People Around the World Are Stepping Up to Help Afghan Refugees in Their Own Ways

Since the Taliban entered Kabul in a swift nationwide takeover, the city’s international airport has become a dangerous cacophony of anxiety and violence: people falling from flying planes, babies hauled over razor-lined airport walls, and shots fired by both United States troops and Taliban militants. On Thursday, more than 100 people were killed in attacks by ISIS-affiliated suicide bombers at the airport. The desperation to leave is palpable, as waves of Afghan refugees pour out of the country in cramped planes. 

Over the past weeks, as governments of coalition forces in Afghanistan hurried to evacuate their citizens and affiliated Afghan nationals, the people in their countries—companies, grassroots organizations, and individuals—are stepping up to support incoming Afghan refugees in their own ways.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Airbnb announced that Airbnb.org, a charity linked to the company, would provide temporary accommodation for 20,000 Afghan refugees worldwide. Launched last year, Airbnb.org runs a program where Airbnb hosts can provide free or discounted stays to people impacted by emergencies, including refugees and COVID-19 frontline workers. The lodging platform is just one of several companies that have rolled out plans to help Afghan refugees. 

Inspired by Airbnb, Hims & Hers CEO Andrew Dudum announced on Thursday that the telehealth platform will be providing 10,000 free primary-care and mental health visits to Afghan refugees. 

To facilitate people’s communication with their loved ones in Afghanistan, U.S. wireless network operator Verizon announced that they will be waiving charges for texts and calls to Afghanistan until Sept. 6. Retail giant Walmart pledged to donate $1 million to three nonprofit organizations supporting Afghan refugees arriving in the U.S.

Some individuals have also harnessed their massive social influence to raise awareness and aid the cause. 

Actor, director, and activist Angelina Jolie made her official Instagram debut on Aug. 19 with a post featuring a letter she said was sent to her by a teenage girl in Afghanistan. The page was filled with writings of fear and despair about the imminent loss of freedom under Taliban rule.

“Right now, the people of Afghanistan are losing their ability to communicate on social media and to express themselves freely. So I’ve come on Instagram to share their stories and the voices of those across the globe who are fighting for their basic human rights,” Jolie wrote in the caption.

In 2012, Jolie was appointed Special Envoy of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) after years of humanitarian work with refugees. 

On Aug. 17, days after the Taliban entered Kabul, an Instagram-famous meme artist known as Quentin Quarantino organized a fundraiser to send rescue planes to Afghanistan. The goal was to evacuate at-risk individuals—including human rights lawyers, social activists, and artists—along with their families on two airplanes that would make as many round trips as they could afford.

The support was immediate and overwhelming: Close to $6 million was donated two days into the fundraiser. As of writing, the initiative has raised over $7 million. In a heartwarming update on Wednesday, the artist shared that the first flight of the operation touched down earlier that day and that 350 Afghans have been rescued.

Nemat Sadat, an Afghan American author and LGBTQ activist, has been actively engaged in efforts to evacuate LGBTQ Afghans amid widespread fears of LGBTQ prosecution under the hard-line Islamist group.

When news of the Taliban takeover broke, Sadat scrambled to compile a list of over 400 Afghans who face heightened vulnerability under Taliban rule—these include members of the LGBTQ community, women’s rights activists, and interpreters. He has been working with the U.S. State Department to evacuate these people. 

 “I’m all for grassroots efforts to help Afghanistan. The problem is that the Taliban is obviously not cooperating with the U.S. and international community,” he told VICE. “Navigating your way into Kabul airport and approaching the main gate is a logistical nightmare, and the clock is ticking for how many people can leave.”

He said that on Thursday morning, 175 of the people on his list were supposed to be evacuated, but none were able to get into the airport.

It’s not just the people with powerful connections and resources who are making immense contributions to refugee support. Around the world, local communities and individuals are also pitching in.

Faith groups are gearing up to provide support to Afghan refugees while community charities are seeing an influx of local donations for incoming Afghan refugees. Sarhad, a nongovernmental organization in Pune, India, has volunteered to “adopt” 1,000 Afghan students, providing them with education and basic living necessities until the situation in Afghanistan improves.

Hurunnessa Fariad, a women’s rights activist and leader at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) in Virginia, told VICE that she has seen an outpouring of support in the area—from donations of toiletries and diapers to the ADAMS Center, people reaching out to ask how they can help out, to individuals organizing donation drives at their homes.

“Honestly, this is showing humanity working at the best level,” Fariad said of the grassroots efforts to support Afghan refugees. 

Having left Afghanistan as a child refugee when the Soviets invaded over 40 years ago, Fariad said seeing her fellow Afghans fleeing the country is especially heartbreaking. 

“It’s just a resurfacing of memories for my family to see that happening again,” she said.

These days, Fariad is knee-deep in coordinating refugee support efforts across different communities and networks. The ADAMS Center has set up a relief fund for incoming Afghan refugees, while Fariad has been collating a list of interpreters and volunteers.

As humanitarian organizations work tirelessly to evacuate at-risk Afghans and optimize settlement processes for Afghan refugees, vital advocacy efforts are brewing in local communities around the world.

Over 300 organizations, businesses, and community groups in Australia have signed a joint letter to the Australian government calling for more assistance for Afghans—including helping Afghan Australians bring their families to Australia, extending the visas of Afghan citizens in the country, and offering more refugee resettlement places for Afghan refugees. Another petition calling for similar action has garnered close to 140,000 signatures.

Demonstrations have been held across Germany to call for the safe evacuation of people in Afghanistan, including some that saw massive crowds gathered in front of the German parliament urging the European Union to welcome Afghan refugees.

A large-scale grassroots campaign in Germany that urges the German government to evacuate vulnerable Afghans—including employees of German NGOs, academics, and activists—has collected over 100,000 signatures for its online petition.

Despite facing setbacks evacuating at-risk Afghans, Sadat isn’t giving up on helping these communities during the humanitarian crisis. And he thinks the world shouldn’t either. 

“I think the world needs to virtually remain engaged with Afghanistan even when the international community withdraws from the country,” he said.

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