Operation: Alive and Free
Purpose: The family of a US Marine needs help escaping Afghanistan.
Hello! We're the Hennings family. The man in the picture is John, a military veteran. If you know us personally, you probably already know we have an unofficially adopted family member from Afghanistan. (For security reasons, please DO NOT say his name in any comments below.) He served as an interpreter for John as well as other U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan. While serving in Afghanistan, our Afghan family member saw active combat, sustained injuries from road side bomb blasts, and was recognized for his quick actions (helping rescue a U.S. service member and putting out a vehicle fire). This happened after the vehicle they were riding in hit an improvised explosive device.
His special immigration visa (SIV) came through a few years ago, and he is now a U.S. citizen and an active duty U.S. Marine. He still has family in Afghanistan -- a parent, siblings, and their families. The Taliban has directly threatened them for their support of Coalition forces and the freely elected government of Afghanistan. They are currently in hiding. Because they are not the wife and children of our adopted Marine, they are not eligible for the SIV. The Department of Defense and Department of State are supporting his pursuit of another category of visa or possibly refugee status to get them to America. Even with high-powered help, though, the process is taking too long for them to safely stay in Afghanistan.
They will have to escape to a third country while they wait for permission to enter the United States. Merely flying to another country will cost about $10,000, and their food and housing while they are there will continue to add to the expense. To support his family, our Marine has already gone beyond the limit of what his salary can provide. We have already supported this process, but our resources have limits like everyone else's, and we wanted to give other people the opportunity to help as well. Our goal for this GoFundMe is $40,000. If we get donations beyond that, we will donate it to the No One Left Behind charity, a nationwide nonprofit committed to ensuring that America keeps its promise to our allies and their families who risked their lives for our freedom. Thank you for your attention and your help!
You may notice that Calli is listed as the beneficiary, this is to insure confidentiality for our Afghan family and because Calli will be disbursing the funds.