Afghan Rescue Project

100% TAX DEDUCTIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE AFGHAN LIVES

My name is Jason Kander. I’m a former US Army Captain who served in Afghanistan as a military intelligence officer. For weeks, myself and a few fellow Afghan vets have been working to evacuate Afghan allies and their families. These are people we know – people who served our country and theirs. We owe these people and we care about these people. And we need your help to rescue them.

As I post this, most of these allies are being actively hunted by the Taliban because of their work for and with the United States, moving their families each night to evade capture. One such family I’m personally close to and hoping to bring to Kansas City is seen in the above photograph. For their association with the United States, one of the men in this picture was fired upon by the Taliban, but he escaped, while the other was caught and severely beaten. They have had to abandon their home because the Taliban keeps going there looking for them, leaving behind written death threats, and at one point pinned an official letter to their door notifying them they’d been tried in absentia, found guilty, and sentenced to die. I have seen the letters and had them translated into English. They are specific, they are clear, and they are chilling.

The man in the center of this photograph is my friend. My friend has confided in me that he is afraid. He has told me that he is worried about how much longer he can feed this family when he cannot work because he cannot show his face during the day for fear of capture. One of the things this fund will do initially is pay to feed this and a few other families while they await evacuation. My friend is proud, and he was reluctant to accept this help, but he now realizes he has no choice. He is grateful.

My friend has told me of the young girls in this family, whether it be his daughters or his nieces, sharing with me that he cannot in good conscience allow them to grow up in an Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban. “It will mean no future for them, Jason.”

Before the airport in Kabul closed and the U.S. military left, I reminded my friend that it would be easier to get out if it were just he, his wife, and his children. “My entire family is in danger because of me,” he told me, “and I cannot leave them behind unprotected.”

These Afghans and their families risked everything in order to help the U.S., illustrating a faith and devotion to our country equal to or greater than any native-born American. They deserve a chance to live free of mortal fear. Their kids deserve a chance to grow up. They will be a positive addition to any community lucky enough to receive them. In the case of my friend and his family, I look forward to resettling them here in Kansas City.

I dream of our kids playing together in my backyard.

But to make that happen, I need your help.

My friends and I have been volunteering our time and effort and paying expenses out of pocket, like purchasing international calling plans and secure messaging apps. We are all living and working on Kabul time while holding down our jobs and supporting families. However, none of the funds raised here will go to reimburse or compensate any of us.

This fundraiser is to meet the immediate needs of a few dozen, very specific Afghans that we are communicating with directly in order to arrange their safe deliverance from the Taliban. In order to improve their chances of escape, they must apply for humanitarian parole with the U.S. The State Department’s humanitarian parole application fee is $575 per person, with requests for fee waivers being denied and kicked back while time runs out. Our best chance to get these Afghans to safety is to pay the application fee for each person. These families are also in hiding, unable to work, so some small portion of funds will go to living expenses like food, medical care and shelter. Once we are successful in evacuating them from the country, we will continue to pay expenses during transit, including their eventual flights to the United States.

We are fortunate to have a pro bono immigration attorney working diligently on their behalf, but once they arrive in the United States and begin applying for permanent status, we will use these funds to pay those future legal expenses.

Our initial fundraising goal is for $30,000. If we are successful in getting them out Afghanistan in the short term, and depending on the success of this fundraising campaign, we may be in a position to raise that goal to provide for more of what I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Your donations to this campaign are tax deductible. They will be sent directly to Jewish Vocational Services of Kansas City, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. I’m so proud to work with JVS on this Afghan Rescue Project. They’ve been assisting refugees in the KC metro area for 70 years, from Holocaust survivors in the 1950’s to Russian refugees in the 1970’s and 80’s to Afghan refugees today. My wife, Diana, was resettled here with her family in Kansas City by JVS after escaping the Soviet Union in 1989, and we are enthusiastic supporters of the organization.

Should the humanitarian parole applications no longer be needed, of if these families escape Afghanistan some other way or surplus funds be received, JVS will use these donations to assist other Afghan refugees resettling in the Kansas City area.

Thank you for your willingness to help us save our friends.