As many of you will have heard through the email grapevine, yesterday soldiers raided the family home of Andeisha Farid, the director of the AFCECO orphanages, and took her father and brother away at gunpoint. Andeisha’s email alerting us to this sparked action by her many supporters and friends in Afghanistan and around the world.
The good news is her father and brother were released yesterday evening (US time) and they are now safe. Sadly, her mother was hospitalized after going into shock, and the children are traumatized. It has been a terrible time for all our friends working and living in the orphanages and for Andeisha’s entire family. We send our love, best wishes and commitment to ongoing support to all of them.
Due to the delicate security situation, we won’t go into the details of what happened unless we get the go ahead from AFCECO. But thanks go to everyone who helped, by emailing and phoning government departments, by activating military channels, by alerting AFCECO’s friends in the media, by spreading the word, and by making themselves available to act. In Andeisha’s own words:
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I and my family wish to thank you for the immense outpouring of sympathy and action that took place immediately upon your hearing of the assault on my family. My father and brother are safely home now. They were released last evening. Every one of us in my family and at AFCECO wish to express once again our appreciation of the deep bond of love and common purpose we have with the American people and all Westerners we have come to know.
In the present war, it is important to gather information, to follow leads, to do what is possible to prevent the spread of terror, but this method of terrorizing in order to fight terror is the quickest way to lose that battle. My family is fortunate. Thousands of average citizens endure such over the top, go get them methods, innocent people who may be detained for days, weeks, or even killed. It is important to know this was not an accident or a simple one-time mistake.
As we prepare the children for their Afghanistan Independence Day party, we reinforce all that is good in the strive for a peaceful and free Afghanistan. We will give light to what is hopeful, what is alive in the hearts of these children.
Thanks again for your sympathy.
Best wishes,
Andeisha
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