Dear friends,
We want to share a crucial update with you. Right now, all exit permits from Pakistan have come to a halt. This has slowed down our evacuation process significantly, and we’re also facing increasing difficulties in securing visa extensions. Despite this, we keep going—step by step.
✨ Some good news:
Two sisters without a male guardian have safely arrived in Brazil. Another unaccompanied woman also made it to safety. These stories give us hope, and we hold on to them as we continue working to bring others to safety too.
But the situation on the ground is urgent. With the delays, people are becoming more desperate. Their mental and physical health is deteriorating.
Last week we shared that one of the women in our group, Lida, is in a particularly critical condition. She has lost almost every male relative in her life—her husband, her father, her brother—and is now raising her two children alone. On top of all this, she has been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness that required urgent surgery. The surgery was performed successfully last week.
We are fortunate to have a skilled doctor in our group who is helping her navigate this frightening situation. But we will need to raise additional funds to cover her ongoing medical costs for chemo- and radiation therapy. If you can, please support her and her children—you can watch her story in the videos we share below.
Lida's story
Lida post surgery
❤️ We are also moved by the generosity of those who continue to give, quietly and consistently. One German lady has already donated generously three times—without even leaving her email address. You know who you are. Thank you.
Your support makes a direct, tangible difference. Our people are in a really difficult place, and your support means that the world hasn't forgotten them. Thank you so much for that. This means not only so much to them, but also to us the team. When the going is tough -as it is right now - we know that you are out there, that you are with us and that you have our back. For us and our Afghan sisters, it is proof that compassion and solidarity still exist.
Unfortunately, this growing impact seems to have attracted renewed attacks from online trolls. Last week, we had to take down one of our videos due to threats, but we are working to edit and re-upload it soon. In the meantime, you’re warmly invited to meet our Afghan women human rights defenders in one of our live calls—book your slot here. https://calendly.com/nadja-muller/afghan-whrd-direct-talk
We believe these troll attacks happen because our work gives hope in a seemingly hopeless situation. And hope is powerful. When we stand together—in action, in community—we are not so easily silenced or controlled.
Please give if you can—and share this petition with others. Together, we can keep this flame of hope alive.
💸 Donations:
Name: HeartWork Stichting
https://heartwork.earth/peacework/
In conclusion, allow me to share with a poem by Thich Nhat Hanh:
“You are like a candle.
Imagine you are sending light out all around you.
All your words, thoughts and actions are going in many directions.
If you say something kind, your kind words go in many directions,
and you yourself go with them.
We are …transforming and continuing in a different form at every moment.”
Let’s keep sending out that light. Let’s keep showing up for one another—with compassion, with love, and with peace.
With gratitude,
Nadja & team