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photo source: Agerpres
Posted by: Ilie Pîrvan
News / International
20 Aug. 2021 / 09:01
US: Call for donations to evacuate Afghan civilians raises six million dollars in two days
A call for donations to allow the emergency evacuation of more than 300 Afghan civilians presented as Taliban targets raised more than six million dollars on Thursday, two days after its creation on an American crowdfunding platform, according to AFP, quoted by Agerpres.
"These people are important targets" for fundamentalists, says page creator Tommy Marcus, and "they are all at immediate risk of being executed by the Taliban along with their families."
These targets include "human rights lawyers, champions of women's rights and the LGBTQ community, journalists, government liaison staff, artists and performers," he said.
Tommy Marcus, who claims to have worked with humanitarian organizations, veterans and activists in Kabul, said the "rescue mission" cost $ 550,000, which is needed to rent the planes.
"All those who will board the planes have been subjected to thorough checks," he added.
Since the platform's inception, nearly 106,000 users have made donations, and the five million threshold has been reached in less than 24 hours.
Due to this influx of donations, the goal has been extended from two to three trips "to how many flights the funds and governments we work with will allow us," Tommy Marcus said in a message Thursday.
Thousands of Afghan civilians gathered in front of Kabul airport in an attempt to leave Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power on Sunday. Several people lost their lives after clinging to planes about to take off.
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