We are a collective of academics and practitioners who have worked in Afghanistan and its diaspora communities. Lately many of us have been receiving requests for help, from people with whom we have maintained relationships of all sorts over many years.

Few of us as individuals have the resources to help as much as we would like, whether these resources consist of practical information regarding relocation assistance programs; various kinds of scholarships and other programs that might be available; legal advice; government, humanitarian, or philanthropic connections; or any and all other considerations.

We figured that one helpful thing to do immediately was to create a space where we could compare notes and ask questions and learn from each other how to help individuals, and groups, most effectively. To this end we are creating a forum of concerned colleagues, with a variety of possible degrees of engagement.

-- We want help in collaboratively creating a list of things people can read, historical and current

-- We want help in collaboratively creating a list of resources regarding practical advice and things people can do, which will be publicly shareable.

-- We will be compiling a directory of people who can help with practical advice in navigating these resources.

-- Finally, we will also be creating a Google Groups email list for general discussion, as well as for keeping us all in touch, and hopefully thinking of ways that we can keep attention on various issues in the longer term.

We would be grateful if you'd consider signing up below, if you'd be interested in contributing to any of these things. We'd also be grateful if you post, tweet, or forward this form widely to your contacts who might be interested.

If you have any questions or concerns, or would like to get involved more extensively, or link up any similar efforts that you may have been building, please contact:

James Caron, SOAS
Manizha Sepas, independent researcher and artist
Heleen Tummers, SOAS and Samuel Hall
Mahvish Ahmad, LSE


AcademicsForAfghanSolidarity@gmail.com