Below is a letter from the leader of the AfghanEvac coalition, a group of hundreds if not thousands of people from all walks of life, backgrounds, political leanings and types of engagement with Afghanistan. This network has sustained the effort to help our Afghan friends and colleagues since the return of the Taliban to power four years ago today. The impact and reach of this coalition is incredible and CSFilm and it’s Afghan network have been very lucky to be informed, supported and buoyed by its strength, determination and solidarity. Thank you to the Afghan Evac coalition and to all of CSFilm’s very generous supporters who continue to provide the ways and means to respond to Afghans’ calls for help.
I won’t share the painful images of human suffering and desperation from those days, weeks, and months. If you’d like to learn more about that experience you can read our post, Against the Wall.
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August 15, 2025
Dear Friends and Allies,
Four years ago this month, the world watched as Kabul fell and the United States and our allies withdrew from Afghanistan after twenty years of war. For many of us, those days are seared into memory: the chaos at the airport, the tragedy at Abbey Gate, the heartbreak of families torn apart, the desperate flights out of harm’s way, and the knowledge that those we left behind would face unimaginable risk.
In the immediate aftermath, we came together, not out of convenience, but out of conviction. We built a coalition that refused to abandon our friends. We fought to open pathways, to create safety, to honor the promises made in America’s name. And for a time, it felt like we were bending the arc toward justice.
But we cannot ignore the truth. Over the last several months, the ground beneath us has shifted once again. Progress, hard-won through sleepless nights and relentless advocacy, has been eroded. Systems that once offered hope have been dismantled or left to wither. Promises have been broken. The state of our mission has significantly devolved.
We are right to feel frustration, even anger. And we are right to name it plainly. But the legacy of August 2021 teaches us something essential: when the stakes are this high, frustration must become fuel. Resignation serves only those who wish to see us fail.
The urgency is real — and so is our opportunity
Even now, there remains a path forward. It will not be paved by wishful thinking, but by the will and work of people who refuse to walk away. The changes we’ve witnessed: the rollbacks, the inaction, the deliberate harm, will not be the end of this story – unless we allow them to be.
This anniversary is a reminder that the fight for our Afghan allies is not over. It is a test of our character, our endurance, and our solidarity. We have never been a movement of convenience; we are a coalition of commitment. And now, more than ever, we need every single person of good will to bring their strength to bear.
As John Stuart Mill wrote, “The worth of a man is in proportion to the objects he pursues, and the energy and perseverance with which he pursues them.” We must pursue justice and humanity with unshakable resolve, and we must do it together.
What stepping up means right now
Stepping up in this season means:
● Speaking truth to power, even when it’s uncomfortable.
● Showing up. For meetings, for briefings, for our allies who need us to stand beside them.
● Leveraging your networks to open doors, shift narratives, and apply pressure.
● Sharing your time, your expertise, and your resources to sustain this work.
It means refusing to be silent while others’ futures hang in the balance.
Our strength is our solidarity
We are not alone in this fight. We are part of a broad, diverse coalition bound by a shared belief: that America must keep its promises and stand by those who stood by us. Our strength has always come from that unity — from veterans standing alongside human rights advocates, from community leaders joining hands with faith leaders, from everyday citizens who understand that integrity is measured by how we treat the most vulnerable.
In moments like this, the forces arrayed against us count on division and fatigue to break our momentum. We cannot give them that victory.
The fight ahead The coming weeks and months will be decisive. We will see more obstacles. We will encounter more excuses. But we will also see opportunities to push back, to hold the line, and to advance our cause in ways that matter.
Every phone call, every op-ed, every show of solidarity at a hearing or in a hallway conversation matters. Change rarely arrives in a single sweeping moment; it comes from the accumulation of relentless, strategic, coordinated action.
We are still here. And we are not done.
Because if not us, then who? And if not now, then when?
Four years on from the fall of Kabul, we still carry the urgency of that moment and the responsibility to act. We have walked through fire together. We have moved mountains before. We can do it again. Let’s take this frustration we feel and forge it into fuel. Let’s refuse to give in to cynicism. Let’s commit ourselves, together, to the path forward.
In solidarity and with resolve,
Shawn J. VanDiver
President, AfghanEvac
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