Dear Friend,
After the government in Afghanistan fell in August, many supporters of democratic rights could not board planes to flee, or chose not to leave their country. You have probably seen the photos of women, supported by young men, who challenged Taliban rule in Kabul within days of their taking power. Today many of these resisters are in hiding with their families, their lives in acute danger from the fundamentalists.
For many years the Freedom Socialist Party (FSP) has been in touch with some of these radials and feminists in Kabul. We know the difficulties they have faced. If ever they needed your help, it is now.
That is why I am asking you to give generously to the Solidarity Fund for Afghan Progressives and Feminists. We want to raise at least $2,000 as fast as we can. Every penny will be sent to Afghanistan. Just click here to give.
Among the anti-Taliban activists we have heard from is the organization called Left Radical of Afghanistan (LRA). LRA is part of a group of progressives, worker advocates, feminists, secularists and socialists who jointly launched a publication called Eteraz, or The Protest, in January 2020.
The Protest was the only revolutionary publication in Kabul standing against the U.S. and NATO occupation, the Ashraf Ghani regime, the Taliban and other extremist Islamic groups. For the next year and a half, it was distributed widely among workers, women, students and teachers in most of the country’s 34 provinces.
This came to a crashing halt with the return of the Taliban, which has unleashed a reign of terror against its opponents.
The reality is that there are hundreds of people on the Left — Marxists, revolutionaries, workers, secularists, democrats and feminists — who lack security, basic necessities, and the ability to make a living. Hunger and poverty hang over them. You can make a difference.
Recently, The Protest staff reported that, despite living in hiding, they intend to begin publishing an online edition in the near future. And we know that the feminists of Kabul will continue to fight for women’s rights however they can, from the underground if necessary.
Now is a time when your donation can have a real impact. It can save lives, buy necessities, keep people in communication with each other, and help The Protest staff survive to fight another day.
Freedom fighters in Afghanistan are counting on us. As LRA wrote to FSP in a recent appeal:
The Left Radical of Afghanistan and other progressive activists sincerely urge all Marxist, socialist, anti-imperialist, antiwar forces, women’s right’s defenders, feminists and secularists to express their solidarity with the progressive forces of Afghanistan through their political and financial support in these difficult and urgent circumstances. We count on the trade unions, Left and progressive parties, and peace-loving people in Australia, the United States and Canada.
Please donate generously today.
Guerry Hoddersen
National Chair, U.S. Freedom Socialist Party
