ON AFGHANISTAN | Helping Afghans with food, housing and evacuation

December 22, 2021

Life for Afghans is very hard. Food scarcity, looming famine, steep increases in the price of necessities and the severity of winter are only a few of the challenges facing Afghans.  For many of the Afghans CSFilm is trying to help, they are also moving regularly to escape the Taliban who continue to search for, terrorize and kill opponents, former government and military employees, human and women’s rights workers, journalists and artists.

Families buy blankets for the harsh winters of Afghanistan

Thanks to your generosity, we are now helping 20 families with legal, financial and logistical support. During recent months we have worked with 9 pro bono lawyers to file 13 appeals to the US government for Humanitarian Parole and other asylum options. The US is charging $575 per family member for Humanitarian Parole applications. So far we have paid $6,900 and many more need to be filed.

This week CSFilm’s Fund for Afghan Evacuation and Resettlement is sending nearly $12,000 to 7 families, 38 individuals, in Afghanistan or neighboring countries where they do not receive assistance. $9,350 is being sent to help with housing and necessities and $2,400 for Afghan passports and Pakistan visas.

Today I had a phone call with the leader of an American team working on evacuating Afghans. The on-the-ground situation is extremely difficult with the Taliban tightening borders and blocking flights, but options being worked on include overland and air evacuations with pathways to the US through Ghana, Brazil, Pakistan, Tajikistan and elsewhere. The logistics are immensely complex but the evacuators are unrelentingly motivated by the disappointment of having left colleagues and friends behind in such a vulnerable situation.

The good news is that of the nine families that we have helped evacuate to a safe and supportive country, two families have decided to seek permanent residency in Germany, one in Spain, one in the UK and one in Canada. We can only hope that their refugee processing is successful. We are still working with them to help rebuild their lives and with the others on pathways to the US.

We can not thank you enough for your generosity. There is still a lot to do to bring families to safe and permanent homes. We can only do it with your support.

Thank you and best wishes for the holidays and new year,

Michael Sheridan
Founding Director
Community Supported Film

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