Can I sit within the Force of this disaster, this disaster within a disaster, and hold open a space of possibility?
Can I do that without ripping apart all the cells in my body?
How can breath shape a way forward?
After displacing all of my work, life, and even joy this last month I have taken stock, found clear, good legal advice (including pro-bono lawyers to help two families) and am understanding the stark limits of institutional support. (This last bit is the title of a multi-chapter book!)
The number of miniscule items that become barriers to attaining the next step of a formal process is simply cruel. (We were able to help one artist receive a visiting researcher role at a major US University - he can’t get out without a visa, he can’t get a US visa without a US Embassy! There are no functioning US Embassies in Afghanistan.)
I’M STILL COLLECTING FUNDS ON VENMO or via check FOR APPLICATION fees AND ALL LIVING EXPENSES
Can I sit within the Force of this disaster, this disaster within a disaster, and hold open a space of possibility?
Certain books have been calling to me from my shelves. Books about my cultural heritage, with inscriptions from mentors and guides, books about the cultural heritage I share with others, and the cultural heritage and contributions of Afghanistan.
And that light, that energy, will find a way to persist. My role is as a guide, vessel of friendship, as a reminder that we have the tools and skill to persist.
Since my last note, only one person has made it out of Afghanistan. He paid a smuggler to get him across to Pakistan and is now hacking through bureaucracy and the void of email communications to get his case processed at the US Embassy.
Thanks to the love warriors around the world, but especially in Pakistan, he has money, a SIM card, a temporary place to stay, and has enrolled in English classes! We will continue to support him.
FOUR FAMILIES ARE STILL STUCK - ALL HAVE FLED THEIR HOMES - THEY MUST FIND A WAY OUT AND A WAY TO SURVIVE UNTIL PAPERWORK IS PROCESSED
MOST GOVERNMENTS ARE SAYING THIS WILL BE 6-24 MONTHS
What has become evident is that a temporary way to get to safety is humanitarian parole which gives someone a conditional 1-2 year visa so that they can be in a safe place to wait for the formal mechanisms to go through.
A HUMANITARIAN PAROLE APPLICATION COSTS $575 FOR EACH FAMILY MEMBER.
WE NEED SPONSORS FOR EACH APPLICANT OR FAMILY.
(Multiple legal sources have told me this doesn’t mean someone comes to live with you or that you are required to offer financial help - it just ensures a safety net because the humanitarian parole visa doesn’t give someone access to full resettlement aid and support.)
CONTACT ME IF YOU CAN DO THIS
I’M STILL COLLECTING FUNDS ON VENMO or via check FOR APPLICATION fees AND ALL LIVING EXPENSES
In 2008 this exhibit toured the world…
The artifacts in this exhibit …”had been rescued, along with other masterpieces from the National Museum, Kabiul, and protected in the intervening years of turmoil by a group of selfless Afghan heroes who have come to be known as “the key holders”; curators and guards of the museum”
Through reading and reconnecting with history and art, I am reminded that throughout time there are subtle things that the ancestors offer. Gems that never lose their shine despite being buried deep in the earth, or in a dusty corner, or in the confusing gaze of an unkind place.
Art and culture will not disappear, but who will tenderly support the next, needed revival of Afghan art & culture? How can we shepherd the future in the most tender manner possible?
I am remembering, I am relaxing, I am recognizing what this work is.