Is REALs additionally specializing in ladies inside Afghanistan?
One of many ladies I help is nineteen years outdated. She was working as a ladies’s activist and journalist, however she was threatened and assaulted by the Taliban due to her work. Nonetheless, she continues with delight. I needed to take her out of Afghanistan to save lots of her life. She nonetheless needs to return to Afghanistan, if the scenario improves. And there are various folks like that.
We additionally began meals help in Afghanistan in February, concentrating on 15,400 folks, together with women-headed households. A few of them are moms, and a few have been college college students who had loads of goals. However then it turned to darkness in a single night time.
The place do the funds to help the evacuations and meals help come from?
We obtain U.N. and different help for different tasks. However REALs doesn’t obtain any funding for Afghan evacuation, aside from non-public donations. We began fund-raising for that round October; earlier than that, we used our inner belongings. We’d like round $1 million to help the evacuations; to this point about $300,000 has been donated to REALs.
What made you determine to get into humanitarian work?
Once I was 17 years outdated, in highschool, I noticed a photograph, taken in a refugee camp, within the Democratic Republic of Congo, the place 2 million Rwandan folks had fled. It was throughout a time after I was complaining rather a lot about my life. I noticed there was just one digital camera between myself and the photograph, however there was enormous distinction in life. I began having a imaginative and prescient of myself with the ability to return one thing to the individuals who enlightened me. I wished to do one thing as a result of I used to be saved by taking a look at these folks.
And now you’re the president of this group. Did you expertise challenges as a girl throughout your profession?
In Afghanistan, I didn’t have a direct harassment, however I needed to be cautious. For instance, throughout conferences with Afghan officers, I didn’t converse as a result of I knew ladies are usually not supposed to talk in public. I used to be attempting to be culturally delicate.
However there are additionally roles that solely ladies can play. And that’s the motivation for me to proceed. After we work with ladies who have been raped or attacked, they’re afraid of speaking to males even when they’re from humanitarian organizations. However after I go there to speak to them, they open up.
Supply: NY Times
