Dear friends,
Our work has shifted again. It is no longer mainly about getting people out. For some, that part has happened.
Now the question is: What happens after evacuation?
And the answer is often: the hard part continues.
One woman we helped is now in France with her two daughters.
She fled Afghanistan after being married to a Taliban member who beat her and stabbed her with a knife. The wound never healed properly and still causes serious health problems.
When she escaped Afghanistan, she disguised her daughters as boys.
In Pakistan, she was stalked. Her nine-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted by the man who was following them.
Eventually, they reached France. She has now been granted asylum.
That should be the beginning of a new life. But right now, she is struggling with almost everything.
Her social benefits were delayed because her surname was entered incorrectly. She is trying to manage on very little money. She needs medical care, but appointments can take months. Their current place is infested with mice. And recently, she was told that she and her two daughters may have to live for up to nine months, possibly longer, in a room of around 10 square metres.
Three people.
One tiny room.
A shared kitchen several floors away.
She called me frightened and confused and asked: What should I do, sister?
This is what I mean when I say that safety is not the same as having a life.
She is no longer hiding from the Taliban. But she is still fighting every day for something very basic: A home. Healthcare. Financial stability. A future for her daughters.
And while some are struggling to rebuild, others are still trapped.
One man known to our network is diabetic and the father of six daughters. His family fled Afghanistan after one of his daughters was threatened with forced marriage to a Taliban member. He used to walk every day to manage his diabetes.
Now, in Pakistan, he is afraid to leave the house. Afghans are being arrested and deported. Some barely leave home, even to buy food or medicine. His health is deteriorating. He cannot safely return to Afghanistan. And he cannot build a secure life in Pakistan.
This is the reality now.
Our focus at HeartWork has changed with it.
We are no longer running the trauma resilience and personal leadership program at the moment. Instead, we stay connected with people we previously helped relocate or who participated in our programs, and we support them where we realistically can.
Sometimes that means helping someone understand an asylum procedure.
Sometimes it means finding a lawyer.
Sometimes it is helping with family reunification.
Sometimes it is medical support.
Sometimes it is emergency financial help.
Sometimes it is simply staying with a complicated problem long enough to find one possible next step.
There is no neat program anymore.
There are people. People we have come to know over the last year and a half. People whose lives became connected with ours. People who crossed borders but have not yet found a home.
And we do not want to disappear from their lives just because the evacuation phase is over. At the same time, we have not forgotten those still in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Around 17.4 million people are projected to face severe food insecurity in Afghanistan in 2026. Acute malnutrition is already affecting 3.7 million children under five and 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women. The picture above was taken by Sayed Habib Bidell from UNWomen. https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2026/07/aid-cuts-employment-bans-movement-restrictions-the-triple-threat-to-afghan-women
We cannot solve this enormous crisis. But we can continue to stand beside the people whose journeys we became part of. If you would like to support this work, donations help us with things like legal and asylum support, family reunification, urgent medical care and practical emergency assistance.
You can donate here: https://heartwork.earth/peacework/
And please keep sharing this petition.
Almost half a million people came together when these women were in immediate danger.
They still need us now.
The emergency has changed, but it has not ended.
With love,
Nadja