World Relief Urges the Biden Administration to Evacuate U.S. Citizens, Allies and Uniquely Vulnerable Afghan Populations Before It’s Too Late

August 25, 2021

CONTACT:
Lauren Carl
lauren.carl@pinkston.co
703-388-6734

BALTIMORE – Given the president’s re-commitment today to fully drawdown U.S. troops by August 31st, World Relief remains deeply concerned about U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPRs) and vulnerable Afghans who are at risk of being left behind. Many Afghans put their lives on the line in support of our U.S. mission over the twenty-year conflict only to be turned away at the Kabul airport while trying to be evacuated from Afghanistan in recent weeks. World Relief has been having daily communication with Afghan families in the United States and others who are still stuck in Afghanistan and urges the Biden administration to continue evacuations beyond August 31st.

“The reality is that thousands of women, children and innocent civilians, including some with U.S. citizenship as well as many allies with pending Special Immigrant Visa applications, will be left behind if we do not act immediately to secure their evacuation,” said Jenny Yang, senior vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief. “World Relief urges the Biden administration to fulfill its promise to the tens of thousands of people who helped the U.S. and risked their families’ lives, in addition to their own, to help our country. We also urge these evacuations to include other vulnerable Afghans, including women leaders, human rights activists, and ethnic and religious minorities.”

As part of the Evacuate Our Allies coalition, World Relief calls on President Biden, who has the legal authority to evacuate our allies and other at-risk Afghans to safety in the U.S., to do everything in his power to evacuate SIVs, LPRs, U.S. citizens and other Afghans no matter how long it takes.

“How we respond to the crisis in Afghanistan will define our generation. A lasting scar will be etched into our nation’s history if the U.S. leaves thousands of Afghans behind to face the ongoing threat of death,” continued Yang. “When it comes to getting Americans out of Afghanistan, President Biden has said that ‘speed is safety’; the same sentiment must be applied to our Afghan allies.”

“Until everyone is brought to safety, we must keep the evacuation going,” said Myal Greene, President and CEO of World Relief. “The Biden administration must do everything in its power to keep its promises to these brave individuals that our nation would offer refuge to those who risked their lives to serve the U.S. missions. We have a moral obligation to protect Afghan lives at this critical hour. To abandon them to the Taliban as part of the schedule set by the Taliban is morally unacceptable.”

World Relief asks that our partners and church community join us in praying for the thousands of women, men and children whose lives are in peril and for the safe evacuation of all U.S. allies and vulnerable populations. And we stand ready to welcome as many as are able to be processed to come into the U.S., alongside thousands of local church and community partners. 

To learn more about World Relief’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, visit https://worldrelief.org/respond/.

To download a PDF version of this press release, click here.

About World Relief

World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization that brings sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest problems – disasters, extreme poverty, violence, oppression, and mass displacement. For over 75 years, we’ve partnered with churches and community leaders in the U.S. and abroad to bring hope, healing and transformation to the most vulnerable.

Learn more at worldrelief.org.