Never would I have thought that I would travel remotely close to Afghanistan. After all, constant news in the media about the Taliban would be sure to steer away any curious wanderers. But there I was, looking across the river to Afghanistan, less than 50 metres away from a country known for being torn by war. Yet at that very spot, I saw nothing but a quiet river streaming through the rocky hills as camels grazed on the water’s edge. It was a glimpse of the peace that the country had, until the Soviets and the British Empire razed it down in their pursuit for dominance. However at that moment, in this particular valley, after years of being caught in the crossfire, there was no trace of instability.
I could ramble on for hours how enchanting Afghanistan seemed, how tempted I was to swim across the river and explore, but I want to share with you the story of a curious and courageous young man from Afghanistan, Sam*. In the face of death as the Taliban hunts for them, they remain strong and resilient. They however need a helping hand to get them through a tough journey and perhaps you dear reader can assist?
I did not meet Sam there that day in that captivating valley, but we met on this same backpacking journey that took me East to West along the ancient silk road.
Who is Sam? How did you meet him?
I met Sam in a quiet town I travelled through with two other friends. Sadly we didn’t have the time to get to know the the place well, our lack of knowledge for the local language perhaps being the biggest factor. Nonetheless, I had fun playing the bizarre monkey with my wild hand gestures each time we traded with locals.
Dressed in scruffily like we just crawled out of a dumpster, I can only hope we didn’t smell like it as we hopped onto a bus of locals dressed eloquently in traditional wear. I noticed at the back of the bus there were three boys chuckling away in a beautiful language. That was Sam and his friends and I now know that language to be Pashto.
We alighted the bus confused with absolutely no idea which direction to even walk towards. Luckily for us, Sam and his friends had gotten off the same stop. We called out to them, hoping they would show us the way and were pleasantly surprised to meet the first person who could speak English in this town.
The best part about backpacking, is all the lovely strangers you meet, new friends you find in unexpected places. He told me he was from Afghanistan and that he had received a scholarship to study overseas. He was in fact an engineering student in a nearby university. I was overjoyed to find out that like me, he spoke 5 languages.
At the end of our chit-chat we decided to keep in touch and exchanged contacts- it happens all the time when you travel. 99% of the time, they’re just another person you briefly connected with over a day or two, and they float on your Facebook for years… but there’s that 1% you make plans with to meet again in the future.
When the pandemic threw the world in chaos, it hit poorer nations the hardest. Afghanistan, robbed of its wealth and peace by foreign invaders, was ill prepared for the arrival of COVID-19. In the mayhem, Sam’s studies was put on hold and he was sent home. While I was stuck in lockdown back in my hometown of Sydney, Sam reached out to see if I was doing ok. We would talk every now and then. I was curious to know more about Afghanistan beyond media portrayal.
Why does he need help?
Life was slow during the pandemic, but for Sam, everything was fine until the botched withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. His family had worked with the previous government and had contributed significantly to resisting Taliban’s extremism. They lost their jobs immediately and had to hide away from Taliban who was hunting them down, hell bent on revenge.
Sam’s brother, Billy* had been hiding a dark secret from the family. Before the fall of the government, the Taliban had tried to assassinate him multiple times. They had tried to blow his car up, but luckily the authorities managed to intervene. He kept his traumatic experience to himself, not wanting them to worry. To avoid getting the family involved, he started staying back at work and sleeping in the police station, claiming he was working overtime.
But now, the government was gone. There would be no police to watch out for him. Billy had no choice but to alert the family to the danger. He put together a pack with his few belongings, wrapped a shemagh around his face to conceal his identity and has since been constantly on the move, staying a few nights here and there with relatives & friends before moving on to the next house.
“I am not scared to die. For me, it is normal to wonder if I will die tomorrow. I’ve already accepted I may die anytime. But for you that is not normal. When I was abroad, I realised everyone else lived without wondering if they will die the next day. I am not scared to die but I must stay alive to protect my family. “
Sam
Billy avoids going home unless necessary, because he knows the Taliban will kill him if they find him. He also knows Sam and his other siblings will try to protect him and consequently also be murdered.
Not long after the Taliban’s recent seizure of the country, a neighbour came to their house to warn them that the Taliban had been knocking on their door with their rifles, holding up a photograph of Billy asking if they knew him. He may have escaped yet another assassination attempt, with the help of loyal neigbours, but will he be able to keep dodging the Taliban?
Will the whole family be able to dodge the Taliban? Eversince they’ve taken over the country, families who have been known to be working for the previous government have been kicked out of their homes. Sam watched on unable to help as the Taliban kicked out families from their houses, just a few blocks away from his own home. He knows him and his family could be next.
It would be for the best, if his family was able to leave their current home and live somewhere safer. But that requires money. Between Afghanistan’s plummeting currency and a stark lack of jobs for those who’ve worked with the previous government, the family is struggling to find a safe place they can call home.
So why haven’t they left the country yet?
There is no easy decision to make. A lack of money is one of the biggest factors preventing them from leaving. Nevertheless, the family has been staying optimistic in the face of unimaginable adversity.
They have already put in an application for a humanitarian visa to Australia. Due to no known family ties to Australia, there is a lot of uncertainty as to whether their visa will be accepted due to our country’s terrible attitude towards asylum seekers. It is a nerve wrecking waiting game until we’re given an answer.
After difficult family discussions, they have reluctantly decided that the family will have to split up. If the whole family were to leave the country, they are worried they would attract the Taliban’s attention and thus put them in danger. There is also no guarantee that they will be safe once they have reached a refugee camp. The young ones who are still of school age would be extremely vulnerable in a refugee camp.
They have decided to first use what money available to get Sam and Billy out of the country first. When they arrived safely in Australia or another country that welcomes asylum seekers, they will be able to find a job, save up and bring the rest of their family to safety. But we’ve come full circle to what’s preventing them from leaving- a lack of money.
Why don’t you contact an NGO?
We have tried asking 40+ NGOs for help including; UNHCR, Amnesty International, Refugee Council of Australia, the Red Cross, Save the Children, among other international not-for-profits that have operated in Afghanistan- but none of them can tell us a way or provide any financial help.
Eversince I found out they wanted to apply for the Australian humanitarian visa, I have volunteered to be their sponsor to increase the chances that their application will be accepted. While we have been unable to find NGOs that will get the family out of the country, we have been able to contact RACs who has given us lawyers to help us with the humanitarian application. We are hoping with RAC’s support and having yours truly as their local sponsor, their visa will be approved.
As far as we’re aware, even if the visa is approved, the Australian government will not provide any financial or logistic assistance to enable Sam and family to leave Afghanistan and make their way to the land down under. We are still gathering information on the safest way for each member of the family to leave the country and in the meantime have started a fundraiser to assist this process.
Why have you set up a fundraiser?
Since the lack of money is the biggest reason preventing the family from leaving Afghanistan where they live in fear of the Taliban, it is necessary for us to raise money to enable them to leave.
Sam and his family are honest and hardworking people who would have never considered taking handouts. Unfortunately they have no choice at the moment.
The US sanctions on the Taliban has indirectly affected innocent citizens in many ways including a shortage of work. For Sam’s family, this means the few members in the family who were lucky in securing a job, have been struggling to bring in enough food to feed the entire family.
They are really struggling to stay afloat, and their hopes to save the money needed to escape is looking dim. I have convinced them to let me help them set up a fundraiser.
Why are you going through so much trouble to help them?
Sam and his family are entirely on their own if they want to live without constant fear of being killed or tortured. I have never gone through anything like this and can not understand what the family is experiencing. I have however felt like I’m (metaphorically) drowning and absolutely nobody was there to help. What I’ve experienced is nowhere close to what this family gone through, but perhaps because I know what it’s like when you desperately need help but nobody is willing to, I don’t feel like I can do nothing when I know how much they’re struggling.
It might seem strange why I’m going out of my way to help them, hence you might feel suspicious. Or perhaps on the contrary, you might think I’m very kind. I am neither kind-hearted nor smart enough to create some kind of elaborate scam. I know I won’t be able to simply turn a blind eye and be able to sleep at night if I ignore Sam and his family.
You can think of it as my selfish desire to be able to sleep at night as my motivation to help Sam and his family.
How do we know donations will help the family?
If you do feel suspicious about the fundraiser, I completely understand, and have hence here are systems of accountability for you to hold me responsible.
1. Excel Spreadsheet
I have created an excel spreadsheet for the cash flow of the fundraiser that is available for the public viewing but can only edited by me.
The spreadsheet keeps track of the following things:
・ Donations that I have received directly via bank transfers, cash, paypal etc.
・ Donations received from Go-Fund-Me
・ Money raised from fundraising events
・ Money sent to Sam & what it was for
・ Proof money was sent to Sam
The name of the donor (unless they want to remain anonymous), date the donation is made and/or received is matched with the donation amount. If a donor does not see their name/ on the excel spreadsheet, they can alert me and I will write it down.
This allows me and donors to monitor where the money donated is sitting. It allows me to also plan ahead for the next step in helping Sam and family escape depending on available funds.
2. Go-Fund-Me Binding Contract
Go-Fund-Me is a trusted website for handling fundraising donations. When I created the fundraiser, I had to sign a contract, or a “letter of attestation” to agree to specific terms as to how the money can be used.
The contract I have signed states that the money can only be used for the following purposes:
・Transport visa costs associated with leaving Afghanistan via Pakistan by plane & onto a country where they can settle safely
・Legal/ sponsorship costs if necessary
・To ensure their safety and financial support until they are able to work where they have settled.
I have declared that is what I will use the money raised through Go-Fund-Me under the penalty of perjury. I am bound by law to only use the money for above reasons, if not I’ll get into a load of trouble.
There are certain limitations with Go-Fund-Me that I will go through below. However, if you are somebody that does not know me, are hesitant about trusting me, but would like to help, please make a donation via Go-Fund-Me and not through direct transfers. Even if you don’t trust me, you can trust Go-Fund-Me.
Political limitations of Go-Fund-Me
Please note that despite certain limitations, money raised via Go-Fund-Me is still incredibly helpful for helping Sam and family in their escape.
Go-Fund-Me does take a small percentage of donations for admin fees. The fee they take out is still a small percent and majority of the donation will still go towards the cause.
The bigger issue is when I was signing the letter of attestation with Go-Fund-Me, the staff there specifically required that it can be used only for “leaving Afghanistan via Pakistan by plane”. Sam is the only person in the family that has a passport and hence the only one that can leave by plane.
I am unsure if it is safe for Billy to leave by plane because my assumption is security at airports are tight and we don’t want the Taliban recognising him. He has applied for a passport back in 2021, but he still hasn’t received it. The people working in government to create passports also seem to have fled or went into hiding when the Taliban took over.
Based on the last intel Billy was able to gather, Pakistan is the only country that does commercial flights in and out of Afghanistan post Taliban take over. Given the dire situation in the country, the price of flights have skyrocketed. It would take a huge chunk out of the fundraiser if we end up purchasing flights when there might be other cheaper, potentially much safer options for them to leave the country.
I have discussed with Go-Fund-Me staff prior to signing the “letter of attestation” that leaving via border crossing with one of Afghanistan’s other neighbouring countries could potentially be a safer option for the duo. However, Go-Fund-Me staff has required me to only use donations associated with transport costs only for “leaving Afghanistan via Pakistan by plane & onto a country where they can settle safely”.
Due to this unfortunate requirement of Go-Fund-Me I am trying to raise money outside of the website for alternate paths of escape for Sam and Billy. Regardless, any donations made to Go-Fund-Me will still be very important to assist with any legal/ sponsorship costs, as well as giving them general financial support for putting food on the table etc. until they are able to settle in a country where they’re safe.
So how is Sam and his family now?
It is a frustrating waiting game as we try to get through to legal aid and navigate bureaucracy. In my conversations with Sam, I am amazed that he can stay so calm despite it clearly being an extremely dangerous and urgent situation. I remember there was one time when I apologised that I couldn’t help him in a better, more effective manner. He simply smiled and told me, “Thank you, you are doing your best.” If I were in his situation, I wonder if I would be as calm as he is. So I asked him how he handles it the way he does.
I won’t forget what he told me. “I am not scared to die. I’ve already accepted I may die anytime. For me, it is normal for me to wonder if I will die tomorrow. You’re from Australia, so this is not normal for you. I realised when I was abroad, everybody lives without wondering if they will die the next day. Though I am not scared of dying, I must stay alive to protect my family. I need to go to Australia, or some other country where it is safe. Since I am the only one that speaks a lot of English, I must go there and work a lot and save money to bring everyone there. I just want my brother, my family to be safe.”
Do you have back-up plans?
I do truly hope, that the effort I have put in to helping them apply for humanitarian visas for Australia will be approved. But knowing Australia’s track record with refugees, I know that we will need to look for sponsors that can help them with their application for the Canadian refugee sponsorship program, and the US humanitarian parole program.
I hope that hearing of Sam’s resilience and bravery, you would perhaps like to help him in this difficult journey. If you can assist in finding sponsors, and/or donating what you are able to, that would be truly appreciated.
I want to find out more before I help…
Of course I expect you may still have many questions as to what this fundraiser is about. Please feel free to look at the instagram account we have created specifically for the fundraiser for more information, or reach out to me in a message and I would be more than happy to answer some questions.
Sam and his family love their home in Afghanistan. The beautiful side to the country is often not portrayed in media. Unfortunately, this family will need to find a safer home. Let’s hope that one day they will be able to return, but until then, I hope you join me in welcoming his family and people in similar situations into our country.
*Real names have not been used in this story in order to protect them from potential harm if their identities are discovered by the wrong people.