I don’t have to tell you things are terrifying right now in Afghanistan. The United States military recently decided it was done with the region, leaving the area wide open for the Taliban to move in and begin spreading. Things are bad for everyone, let me be clear, but things are especially bad for women and LGBT people.
I am not on the ground so I can’t report on what I can’t see. There are numerous reports and accounts of LGBT people being murdered by the Taliban as they move into the territories the U.S. abandoned. What I can tell you is we are seeing the same old political debate right here in the U.S. about what to do with those refugees seeking asylum from a war torn country. Then there were reports of attacks on the major airport that was providing a lifeline for people in the region to flee to safety.
The problem facing the refugees right now isn’t just an American one. Even if you can argue we made the mess it is true we cannot clean it up on our own. Putting aside for one second that the war was started under a NATO treaty, this refugee crisis is NOT a U.S. problem, it is a problem for everyone in the world to be watching closely and doing what they can to help.
I am asking if you live in a country that offers even slight protections for LGBT people then now is the time to contact your representatives, your state department, your military leaders and demand they help rescue the refugees fleeing this terrifying situation. My heart breaks, bleed for those people who are suffering and dying because of mistakes my countries leadership made. I won’t play the blame game, not now it’s too urgent lives are at stake. What I will do is retweet any GofundMe I see to help refugees, I will try to encourage everyone to do something, even something small like giving to the Red Cross or another humanitarian relief fund. Now is the time to act. Before you retort I can’t afford that, you can if you give up one Starbucks or soda pop a week. Give what you can. A dollar a month, a dollar a week, if you can give more. Sometimes we find ourselves facing our own internal crisis. Personally I talk a lot but don’t always follow through. I am following through on this one. I have already been giving blood as often as they will let me. Today, as soon as I have finished writing this, I will be making the largest donation I can afford to a humanitarian cause I believe will help. It’s not much but if everyone gives a dollar that’s more than enough dollars to make a difference.
Of course if you truly can’t even afford to give then please at the very least help spread the word. Share any godfundme or relief funding posts you see on social media. Share blog posts such as this one encouraging people to give or help. If you feel compelled to contact those I mentioned above then by all means do so. There are people out there dying right now and they need our help. Not all organizations are equal so it’s up to you to do some research to make sure their doing what they say. I am only sharing links I can find.
If you are in Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Germany or some other country that has the means and the resources to help, please encourage your government to do more. If you have the means to host a refugee consider doing that. This crisis is urgent. I can’t save everyone but if by my actions one life is saved I didn’t do enough, but I did more than nothing. We have to do more because it’s not just our rights under attack, in some places it’s our very lives at stake.
Here are links to LGBTQ+ organizations you can trust that can help out.
https://www.lgbtasylumproject.org/
https://www.rainbowwelcome.org/
http://irqr.ca/2016/?page_id=533
https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/
And a few who support LGBTQ+ people you can recommend once they are safe:
Stephanie Bri 