Help the Ahmadi Family Reach Safety

Hello! Thank you for visiting this page. I hope you will read about the Ahmadi Family and consider donating. Whether is it $5 or $500, every donation counts! 100% of funds will go towards the logistics (transport, visas, medical checks, etc) of getting the Ahmadi family to safety and their needs (food, water, shelter, etc) during the lengthy process to resettle in the US. This fundraiser is also being managed by Samira Darwishi, cousin and niece of the Ahmadi family.

 

I am choosing to use first initials and a photo of a project B. and I worked on together instead of the recipients' photo to protect their identities at this time as they are still in imminent danger. 

 

Meet my friend B. Ahmadi who I have worked with since 2018! B. started out as my translator, but ended as my dear friend. I have many fond memories of the long car rides with him to the green zone (during which I would get terribly car sick and he would gently tease me about it) and our chats about our hopes and dreams for the future. His easy-going personality combined with his sharp intellect made him a perfect companion and I couldn't have asked for a better friend. His friendship and kindness was a blessing when I knew almost no one and he protected me fearlessly while I was in his country.

 

The Taliban take over turned the Ahmadi family's lives upside down. Overnight, B. and his family became wanted and could no longer live safely out in the open. Within the first month under Taliban rule, the Taliban began searching door to door and detained and questioned his neighbors and friends about his family's whereabouts. B.'s family is being targeted by the Taliban because of his service as an interpreter for the US government and because his father is a well known anti-Taliban fighter.

Not only do I worry about the Ahmadi’s physical safety, but I also worry about the future of the youth of their family. B’s younger sister, M, is a member of the women’s Afghan National Youth Football (soccer) Team. Under the Taliban, she is not able to follow her dreams and play the sport she loves. B’s other younger sisters, K and H, have had to stop their studies altogether and K is at risk of being forced into marriage with a Taliban fighter due to being of age and unmarried. B’s younger brother, F, risks being forced to join the Taliban when he comes of age. 

Furthermore, the Ahmadi's are Hazara, an ethnic group that the Taliban has historically targeted and persecuted. We know the Taliban are capable of terrible things, and as such, B. and his family rightly fear for their lives. Over the years, B. has been a faithful friend and I now feel it is my duty to do what I can to help him and his family get to safety after he and his father honorably and courageously fought against the Taliban and served the US government. 

 

We have managed to get B. and his family of seven to a safe house where they are staying while they wait to be evacuated by plane which will be happening imminently. B. and his family only had 1 hour's notice to pack up and leave their home and your donation will help them get them to safety, on their feet, and start a new life in a country where they can live without fear.

Here is what your donation could do:

$150 provides shelter and food for the family for 1 week.
$300 provides the entire family with warm jackets, gloves, and other warm clothing items as winter sets in and temperatures drop. 
$500 provides shelter and food for the family for 1 month.
$600 pays for one visa that would allow one family member to enter the US. 
$1,000 provides access to a lawyer to file visa paperwork and navigate the immigration system for the entire family. I am currently doing this on my own to save on costs. 

$5,000 pays the visa fee for the entire family

 

Thank you for reading a bit about B.'s story! I hope you can contribute to the effort to get him and his family to safety. I have set up a separate bank account to hold the funds and will be withdrawing and distributing the funds to B. as the Ahmadi's needs arise. Any remaining funds will be donated to a charity that is assisting Afghans to evacuate or resettle. 

For US donations: every penny counts! If you’d like to donate via Venmo or Zelle it will save the 2.9% + 30 cents that go fund me charges. Venmo @taimeetat and comment “Ahmadi family”. Your donation will be deposited in the separate account designated for the Ahmadi family’s funds.

For international donations: your currencies’ penny equivalent also counts! Go fund me accepts donations in foreign currency as well as USD.

 

Updates to be posted as they come :)