Small nonprofits and community groups have leapt to action to support newly arriving refugees<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Helen Lock | Global Citizen<\/a> | September 10, 2021 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine what it would be like to take the agonising decision to leave your home country in a matter of hours, leaving friends and family behind, only then to arrive in a country far away, with absolutely nothing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is what thousands of people have experienced in the past few weeks as the Taliban took power in Aghanistan, with many \u2014 and particularly women and girls and the LGBTQ+ community \u2014 fearing for their rights, freedoms, and lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The US and UK withdrawal and ensuing evacuation process faced heavy criticism because<\/a> of how many people were left behind, with some Afghans who worked for the British army or at the embassy having their applications turned down<\/a>. Estimates vary, but some UK MPs have said up to 7,000 eligible people<\/a> may have been left behind \u2014 the government\u2019s defence department says it\u2019s between 800 and 1,100.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the end, about 15,000 people<\/a> were evacuated to Britain, including around 5,000 British nationals as well as 8,000 Afghans and their children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government has said a further 20,000 Afghan refugees<\/a> will be granted asylum over the next five years, with the number capped to no more than 5,000 arriving before the end of 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those figures have been criticised<\/a> for being too low, with Canada for example resettling 20,000 refugees this year, while the number is equivalent<\/a> to the number of refugees who have come to Britain from Syria \u2014 a country with half Afghanistan\u2019s population. What’s more, the five-year time scale will mean many people being forced to wait in refugee camps<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For those who have been able to flee, settling in the UK so far has not been easy. Charities have warned a majority of refugees face months living in hotel rooms<\/a> due to a lack of housing available. Meanwhile, after leaving with no time to spare, thousands of families arrived<\/a> with only the clothes they wore when they boarded the plane, and many will likely suffer from PTSD, experts warn.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Refugee Council, a leading refugee assistance nonprofit in Britain, said in a press statement on Sept. 8<\/a> that new arrivals are facing a \u201cnumber of challenges\u201d \u2014including a lack of information about what is happening to them, a lack of basic essentials such as medicines, period products, and other toiletries, no toys or crafts for children, and no access to a phone to contact relatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s where the public, nonprofits, and community networks have stepped in to help amid a welcome programme that has suffered, according to some local councillors<\/a>, from \u201ca lack of coordination\u201d from central government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some of the ways anyone in the UK can support those groups, through volunteering, donations, or funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Donate to National Appeals<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Afghan and Central Asian Association<\/a> is a network that has run employment workshops, English language classes, and women\u2019s support groups for Afghans in Britain since 1999. The group is also developing two citizen\u2019s advice centres based in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They are currently running an emergency fundraiser<\/a> to support their volunteers who it says are providing round-the-clock assistance to help new refugees settle, and need resources and help to buy basic supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another fundraiser is being run by Refugee Action, a major national refugee charity that sent staff and volunteers to airports to provide food and medical attention to newly arrived Afghan refugees.<\/a> They are now raising \u00a3215,000 to continue their support in the coming weeks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Find Local Call-Outs for Help<\/p>\n\n\n\n Specific needs will vary across the country, so keep your eyes peeled for call-outs from local councils on social media or in local newspapers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can use the government\u2019s \u201chelp refugees\u201d website<\/a> to find out targeted ways you can help, meanwhile ITV has listed the local councils<\/a> that are pledging to accommodate Afghan refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you live in London, there are multiple community groups and charities that work to support newly arrived refugees in each borough. London Plus, a charity that supports nonprofits in the capital, is creating a handy running list on Twitter<\/a> and on their website<\/a> of food banks, mental health services, clothing collections, and other services for Afghan refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They include Paiwand,<\/a> a refugee services charity based in north-west London, Action for Refugees Lewisham<\/a> in south-east London, and Hopscotch<\/a>, a women\u2019s centre in Camden, north London, currently raising funds to provide targeted support to Afghan women and children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Donate Toys and Children\u2019s Clothes<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Walsall, 28-year-old Lucie Dennis runs a local children\u2019s charity called Help to Make Tummies Full<\/a>. When she found out that 48 Afghan children would be settling in the area, she leapt into action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her appeal for children\u2019s clothes, toys, books, and baby soap led to dozens of donations arriving at her door, the BBC reported.<\/a> Her small nonprofit has been able to use the donations for emergency packages to deliver to each of the refugee children arriving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe community has been just incredible,” she said<\/a>. “My house is covered in jigsaws, baby shampoo… It’s really refreshing, there is so much misery, but people want to help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I can’t bear the thought of children flying across the world with nothing, we’re so blessed to be where we are,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other larger organisations have made similar call-outs including Afghan Welcome<\/a>, which is coordinating a response from multiple charities and which has a list of children\u2019s items needed that it will distribute. Elsewhere, Baby Basics<\/a> is another national charity providing essentials to families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Donate Toiletries<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bridge 2 Liverpool<\/a>, a small charity serving asylum seekers and refugees in Liverpool, is one of the many organisations that’s been coordinating donations of essential items in the past few weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They have collected hundreds of items which their staff are delivering to hotels where new refugees are staying, the team has said<\/a>. They also run a \u201cshop\u201d which refugees can visit to see what they need and receive donations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, on their Twitter account, Bridge 2 Liverpool have warned they don\u2019t have capacity to sort through unwashed clothing and so have asked for completely clean and \u201clike new\u201d clothing. The group has also said that toiletries are still \u201cvery much needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Toiletries and hygiene products, which can only be donated unused, are just as critical as clothes and food, but sometimes get forgotten. Check out Beauty Banks<\/a>, The Hygiene Bank<\/a>, and Bloody Good Period<\/a>, which all distribute period products and essential hygiene items at food banks and other centres all over the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do Some Second-Hand Clothes Shopping<\/p>\n\n\n\n Choose Love<\/a>, the refugee charity initially set up to respond to the refugee crisis in Calais in 2015, has set up an emergency appeal for Afghan refugees.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Working in collaboration with the second-hand clothing site Thrift<\/a>, if you buy second-hand clothes from the Choose Love \u201cSecond Life\u201d store on Thrift, all funds raised will go to support that appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The appeal is raising \u00a3400,000 for projects<\/a> \u201cproviding vital aid and services\u201d to Afghan people, including \u201cclothes, shelter, support for children, and groups protecting women and children\u2019s rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Offer a Spare Room, If You Have One<\/p>\n\n\n\n The organisation Refugee Home connects<\/a> people who have a spare room in their home with refugees and asylum seekers who need somewhere to stay. They have so far placed almost 2,500 guests<\/a> with new homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a route a few famous faces have taken to show their support for refugees too, including George Clooney in the US<\/a>, while Match of the Day<\/em> host Gary Lineker<\/a> offered a room in his Surrey home through the Refugee Home charity last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They are now taking applications for hosts for Afghan refugees and say they have had hundreds of offers<\/a>. They have asked that only people living in cities apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Support Women\u2019s Rights Organisations<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rights of women and girls are seriously at risk under the Taliban<\/a>. Afghan politician Fawzia Koofi, one of the few women involved in peace negotiations, has said that despite assurances from the Taliban leadership, many simply do not feel safe given their record on gender inequality. She warned in an interview in August<\/a> that she was already hearing reports of women being forced to marry Taliban fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the takeover, it\u2019s been reported that women are quitting their jobs and deleting their social media<\/a> accounts, out of fear of persecution for working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two UK-based organisations Women for Refugee Women<\/a> and Refugee Women Connect<\/a> are groups advocating for the rights and for support for women refugees coming from Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both organisations are also advocating against the UK government\u2019s Nationality and Borders Bil<\/a>l, which seeks to punish refugees arriving through \u201cirregular routes\u201d, for example, on boats crossing the English Channel, rather than through a resettlement programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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