Afghan Members of "Fletcher and Friedman Family"

Dear Fellow Members of the Fletcher and Friedman Community,

“Can you help us?”

As the Taliban encircled Kabul, faculty and students began to receive pleas for urgent help from current and former Fletcher and Friedman students -- asking if there was anything the Fletcher network could do to assist their escape. These Afghan members of the Fletcher and Friedman community included people who had worked closely with the US and international forces; others worked in civil society to advance the rights of children, women and girls, or to improve food security; yet others endeavored to advance democratic processes. With the Taliban surrounding Kabul, they and their families were in extreme danger.

From across the Fletcher network, many of you answered their appeal with an unhesitating “Yes!” As a result of an impromptu emergency network, we were able to assist nearly 100 people from the Fletcher and Friedman community and their families to evacuate to camps in Albania and Abu Dhabi. Some from our community are still trying to flee and we continue to assist them. 

Today, we are reaching out to the entire Fletcher and Friedman community to ask: “Can you help?” 

The Fund to Support Afghan Members of the Fletcher and Friedman Family has been established to support our colleagues and their families as they now face life as refugees. Members of The Fletcher School at Tufts University, in partnership with Wartists and ArtLords www.artlords.co  (a leading Afghan NGO that is US based) have started a fundraising campaign through MightyCause to support our colleagues. Please join us by donating. Here is a little more information.

• Sponsors: The Fund is sponsored by Fletcher and Friedman-affiliated individuals, and Wartists, a 501c3 registered in the US by the organization ArtLords. Please note: donations are not being collected by The Fletcher School or by Tufts University, and any donations made to the fund should not be considered donations to the school or to the university. All funds will go directly to Wartists and will directly benefit the "Fletcher and Friedman Families". Finally, please be advised that funds donated from the U.S. are tax deductible; those wishing to donate from outside the U.S. should check with their tax advisor.

• Beneficiaries: The Fund will be used to support the needs of nearly 100 Afghans who are current and former Fletcher and Friedman students and their families, and who were forced to flee from Afghanistan. Distribution will be based on need, with a goal of helping as many families as possible with the vital requirements of starting new lives outside Afghanistan. Professor Dyan Mazurana of both the Friedman and The Fletcher School and who has been directly involved with the evacuation of our Afghan students and alumni will chair the committee that receives requests and awards funds.

• Purpose: The Fund will support urgent needs, such as: legal assistance to process asylum and/or immigration cases, basic housing, access to transportation, medical care, language classes, and essentials such as food, medicine, clothes and other household necessities.  

Follow this link to DONATE https://www.mightycause.com/story/2w0c4f?amp; Our goal is to raise $150,000.00 to help our Fletcher and Friedman colleagues from Afghanistan complete the journey and to resettle in the US. 

We will continue to provide updates to the community regarding our ongoing efforts to support those members of our community who remain in harm's way, as well as those who are now in the process of being resettled.

Questions about the fundraising process may be found here https://support.mightycause.com/hc/en-us/sections/360001975872-Frequently-Asked-Questions , and questions about Fletcher's role in this process may be directed to Executive Associate Dean Maribel Blanco at maribel.blanco@tufts.edu.