… And I condemn them for their abandonment of Afghanistan.

The same day the First Lady of the United States visited Ukraine to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people, I received the following message from a young woman in Kabul following the Taliban edict that all women must now wear the burqa again.

Dear Friends & Colleagues.

I am proud to share that I have been volunteering with Allied Airlift 21, an organization that operates the Afghan Ally Registry – a secure list of individuals and families under threat who are seeking evacuation from Afghanistan.

I am mostly assisting with the production of a newsletter. I helped produce, edit and write our April newsletter. The bulk of my work went into interviewing “Adbul” – a former Afghan interpreter that helped organize and lead an evacuation flight out of Mazar-i-Sharif. You can check out our Aprils newsletter here:

http://mailchi.mp/96462586db2d/allied-airlift-21-news-update-april-2022

This is a highly personal volunteer effort for me, seeing how I am connected to many friends who are either trapped in Afghanistan or have loved ones that have been left behind in dangerous and dark circumstances.

Unfortunately, even as a volunteer, there is only so much I can do. We are limited to assisting Afghans well along with SIV process right now and have no ability to influence that process.

But I remain committed to helping my friends, however long it takes.
I would like to thank Tracie Lattimore and Allied Airlift 21 Case Manager Carrie Brown for nominating me as a volunteer.

If any of my friends and colleagues would like to help out with this effort, feel free to get in touch with me.

This man, an Afghan Refugee, on Nowruz – sang for Ukrainians fleeing violence and destruction in their own lives. He himself – having had to flee the end of his own former life recently.

I found it moving.