Update on Evacuations from Afghanistan - and the Long Road Ahead

Update from Stephanie Case, President & Founder of Free to Run

Thank you all for your incredible support and encouragement these past couple of weeks - it has been overwhelming and very much appreciated by our entire team. We have been working around the clock to find options to get our Free to Run team members to safety. After more than 15 years of working in human rights, I can say that this has been one of the most heart-wrenching, frustrating and yet uplifting weeks I have ever experienced. I always knew that Free to Run women and girls - and the male staff who support them - were some of the strongest individuals I had ever met, but what I am continuing to witness this week from the team in Afghanistan has astounded me.

I wanted to first share with you the positive news. All of our female staff members and core staff members at risk, including those with disabilities, have been evacuated through the incredibly hard work of our team and allies, including Taylor Smith, our Executive Director, James Willcox, a Board Member, and Connie Schneider, our former Board Chair. It has been an absolute honour to work around the clock with them, particularly over this past week. I would also like to thank the extraordinary efforts of some of our military contacts who had seen the work of Free to Run first-hand and who gave up multiple nights of sleep to help get our team to the airport and past the gates - no small task. The Ukrainian Special Operations Forces deserve particular mention for their bravery and compassion in supporting the evacuation efforts of our team on the ground. We would also like to thank the US Institute of Peace for assisting us with flights.

However, the stark reality is that the real efforts have come down to the Afghans themselves and their willingness to endure days upon days upon days of fighting through crowds, negotiating past Taliban checkpoints, waiting at airport gates, and placing their lives at extreme risk. The horrific suicide attack on Thursday, 26 August at the airport - which killed approximately 170 Afghans and 13 US service members - is a terrible example of the risks that they faced when attempting to be evacuated.

While I firmly believe that we need to celebrate the recent evacuations as a ‘win’, the sobering reality is that we still have hundreds and hundreds of staff members, community development leaders, participants and alumni in Afghanistan who need our help. And those who have been evacuated may face a very tough road ahead as they are kept in limbo in Qatar, Ukraine, Italy, France and other locations, awaiting resettlement to their new homes in the US, Canada and elsewhere.

We are committed to our Free to Run family from Afghanistan, whether that be in-country or abroad. And our work will not stop. With your support, we will be able to continue to follow the rapidly changing circumstances on the ground in Afghanistan as we explore every option to try to keep the team safe, and we will be able to support those who have gotten out. The first phase of our efforts may be over, but the next phase is beginning and we - our Afghan team members - continue to need your help.

Finally, I want to take a minute to reflect on the broader picture of what is happening in Afghanistan and why Free to Run’s work has been, and will continue to be, so critical. In times of conflict and crisis, we know that women and girls are disproportionately affected. In Afghanistan, we have already seen in the last few days and weeks how women have become increasingly erased from public view. They are sheltering in place in homes, unable to go outside without a male chaperone from their families, and prevented from returning to work.

When women are not physically seen, when they are invisible, it becomes much easier for those in power to forget that they exist and have equal rights as the men in society. Free to Run tries to specifically combat this in bold and safe ways. Through running and outdoor activities, we help women and girls to reclaim public space, which in turn helps to shape the views in society of the roles that they can and should be playing.  

Our work is far from over and there is much more to be done. Thank you for standing with us and the women and girls of Afghanistan. You can continue to support our work here. 

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We are indebted to numerous military professionals who worked tirelessly to help our team. All of our female staff have been evacuated, but for security reasons, we’re unable to share photos of them.