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By Time Commitment

  • Stop The Roll Back On Human Rights In Afghanistan

    5 min

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ABOUT THE INITIATIVE

Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is pleased to join Welcome.US, a new national initiative, built across sectors, political parties and all walks of life, to empower Americans to welcome and support our new Afghan neighbors.

Refugees leave their homes because they have no other choice. They want the same safety that any of us would want if we were in their shoes. They just want to be part of a safe community again.

Within this context and in partnership with resettlement agencies, community leaders, refugees, nonprofits, businesses, faith-based organizations, veterans, universities, governors and mayors, and many others, Welcome.US will create a single point of entry for Americans who want to get involved and support our Afghan neighbors starting new lives in the United States.

As part of the effort to engage Americans and welcome Afghan refugees seeking safety, Welcome.US is creating the Welcome Fund to give emergency grants to local and regional nonprofits working directly to address the most urgent needs facing Afghans rebuilding their lives in communities across the country.

While Welcome.US is focused initially on mobilizing welcome for our new Afghan neighbors, its vision is to create a movement of welcome for all people seeking safety. Just as Afghans are resettled in the U.S., Haitian refugees at the U.S. southern border and all people seeking safety must also be welcomed. This is about bringing the country together to welcome people with dignity and compassion.

HOW IT WORKS

Welcome.US and its partners are critical to helping support our new Afghan neighbors get settled and build their new lives in the United States. Welcome.US provides its partners:

  • A Platform for Partners’ Needs and Calls to Action. Welcome.US curates and features its partners’ calls to action and invites the public to get involved and take action in the way they most need.
  • Storytelling and Amplification. Welcome.US features stories of the incredible work partners are doing — both by amplifying existing stories and by producing new content. Partners also receive communications support to lift up their message through earned media and beyond.
  • Strategic Collaborations. Welcome.US facilitates strategic, creative collaborations between partners to help respond to urgent challenges or opportunities within the coalition. This could mean creating a new partnership, launching a public campaign, sharing best practices among non-profit organizations — or much more.

This is also where the help of activists like you comes in! If you are interested in joining or have any questions or concerns, you can reach out Denise Bell at [email protected] or [email protected].

AMNESTY’S ROLE

In response to the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crises in Haiti and Afghanistan, AIUSA is calling on the Biden administration and Congress to welcome more refugees into the United States; pass the Afghan Adjustment Act; halt deportations to Haiti and Afghanistan; and support people seeking safety through refugee resettlement, meaningful access to asylum, and humanitarian response funding.

In partnership with Welcome.US, Amnesty International is helping build a movement of welcome. We all want to live in a world where we look after each other, and everyone is treated with dignity, respect, and fairness. How quickly and how comprehensively we welcome our new neighbors will decide just how bright our future can be.

CALL TO ACTION

NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 28: Hundreds of people are gathered at the NY Public Library on 5th Avenue as “Free Afghanistan” rally to protest Taliban in New York City, United States on August 28, 2021. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Promote and expand community sponsorship — including a new private sponsorship program — to empower people across the United States to directly welcome and support our new neighbors


TOPSHOT – Afghans gather on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul on August 20, 2021, hoping to flee from the country after the Taliban’s military takeover of Afghanistan. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Immediately halt deportations to Haiti


TOPSHOT – Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Pass an Afghan Adjustment Act to ensure Afghan newcomers have a roadmap to citizenship


WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 28: A “Save Afghanistan” sign is seen in front of the White House during a “Save Afghan Lives” protest on August 28, 2021 in Washington, DC. The protest comes on the heels of a deadly bombing in Kabul this week as the U.S. and its allies rush to evacuate people from Afghanistan before the August 31st withdrawal deadline. (Photo by Liz Lynch/Getty Images)

Immediately end Title 42 expulsions and uphold the U.S. legal and moral obligation to allow people to seek asylum


SPONSORSHIP

Sponsorship is a simple but radical idea: activists like you can play a key role in helping people reach safety and settle into their new homes. Sponsors are guides, advocates, and friends to their newly arriving neighbors. Not only are you creating positive change at the local level, you are also joining a global movement of trailblazers in this powerful expression of direct welcome.

Here’s how (it’s simple!): Sign up with few fellow Amnesty members, friends, or family in your area to sponsor a refugee through Sponsor Circles – a community-led resettlement initiative that allows everyday activists to take on the responsibility of welcoming an Afghan newcomer to their city or town in the United States. After you sign up to Sponsor Circles, make sure to let us know at [email protected] so we can follow up!

REPORTS

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