1st of February, 2022

Thanks to the generous solidarity of more than 226 donators from more than 15 countries on the 5 continents, the anarchists of  Afghanstan have been sucessfuly sheltered.

On August 15, 2021, to the general surprise of the whole world, the Taliban entered Kabul and the corrupt regime supported by the American imperialists collapsed. Terror seized women and men who loved freedom and justice, who rightly feared the Islamist tyranny of the Taliban. The whole world witnessed scenes of desperate panics.

While the major Western powers were organizing, in the greatest improvisation, the repatriation of their nationals and some of their collaborators, sorting out those they would take away and those who would remain in the hands of the Taliban, the Afghan anarchists, who knew they could not rely on Western states to ensure their security, turned to friends of the AIT in Pakistan (WSF, Workers Solidarity Federation) to help them flee urgently.

Immediately, the companions from Pakistan responded positively. However, the financial resources required by this rescue operation greatly exceeded the very limited means of the young anarchosyndicalist organization of Pakistan. The companions then approached the sections of the AIT to ask for their solidarity. The sections of the AIT have taken actions by organizing solidarity collections with their members and friends.

The section in France of the AIT (CNT-AIT France) organized a collection on the internet. After the refusal of many on-line platforms to organize collections for Afghan refugees, it was able to open a collect on PayPal. Transferring money to companions in Pakistan was another source of difficulty, as most of the banks or of the transfer platforms refusing any transaction with Pakistan. However, solutions were found, again thanks to the mobilization of the international network of AIT, and the money was transferred to the companions in Pakistan.

More than a dozen Afghan companions, sometimes with families, were able to cross the border illegally and be sheltered in discreet apartments, to escape the surveillance of both Pakistani Islamists and the police. The police arrested WSF companions to intimidate them and try to find out where the Afghan refugees were hiding, but the companions kept silent.

The WSF of Pakistan and the CNT-AIT France thank the more than 226 donors, individuals, groups or organizations, from more than 10 different countries on 5 continents, who have made it possible to collect more than 8000 euros in donations, which are added to the collections carried out by the companions of the CNT-AIT in Spain, SOLFED in Great Britain, WSA in Austria, PA in Slovakia, ASF in Australia, … These funds made it possible to shelter the Afghan anarchist companions and to meet their needs during their beginning of exile.

Today, at the beginning of 2022, some companions have preferred to return to Kabul, to try to benefit from a legal departure, others have requested political asylum with Western embassies in Pakistan and are waiting for a decision, finally others survive in Pakistan in hiding. For security reasons we will say no more.

To thanks the donors, we have send them the PDF file of the Urdu and Pashto translations of Rudolph Rocker’s book on anarchosyndicalism.

This rescue operation showed the responsiveness and efficiency of the international anarchosyndicalist network of the AIT. If you would like to contribute to the solidarity activities of this network in the future, do not hesitate to contact us.

Long live international solidarity and long live freedom!

Long live anarchy!

Long live AIT!

WSF-AIT (Pakistan) and CNT-AIT (France)