The first group of LGBT Afghans have arrived in the UK since the Taliban’s return of power in August. The evacuation of these 29 people occurred just as the Taliban confirmed they will not recognize the rights of LGBT people while in power. Rainbow Railroad, the organisation central to the successful evacuation of LGBT Afghans to the UK, believes the Taliban has compiled lists of LGBT people to kill.
“In Afghanistan, these 29 people faced grave and immediate threats to their lives because they are LGBTQI+,” reported Rainbow Railroad. “Since the fall of Kabul in mid-August, Rainbow Railroad worked diligently on the ground with our partners in the region to provide safety for these 29 individuals, who we have now found a permanent pathway to safety out of the country.”
“This first arrival was the culmination of months of advocacy to the U.K. government, civil-society cooperation and partnership building which represents the best of what we can accomplish when we work in tandem with governments and civil society organizations.”
Rainbow Railroad has had the safety of LGBT Afghans in their sights since the Taliban regained power and they don’t plan on easing up on evacuation missions. “In August, we helped dozens of LGBTQI+ individuals escape via the military airlift. Further to this, we have found pathways to safety for more LGBTQI+ individuals outside of Afghanistan. In the coming weeks and months, we anticipate that we will be able to move more people to safety via this partnership.”
“However, it is only the beginning – Rainbow Railroad has now fielded over 700 requests and has identified over 200 in additional people in need of immediate evacuation.”
Rainbow Railroad stresses that the Taliban is keeping lists of LGBT people to seek out and kill. “This is a really scary time to be in Afghanistan,” Executive Director Kimahli Powell of Rainbow Railroad told FRANCE 24. “We have received reports of names of suspected LGBTQI people circulating…We now know for sure the Taliban has ‘kill lists’ circulating, identifying LGBTQI+ persons.”
According to Powell, the Taliban likely took advantage of the weeks leading up to the U.S. withdrawal deadline to create the “kill lists.” To know who to target, they could have monitored the names of people international human rights groups were attempting to evacuate.
“[Some] individuals who have reached out to us have told us about how they’ve received a mystery email from someone claiming to be connected with Rainbow Railroad asking for their information and passport,” Powell said. “That’s how we know the information has been leaked.”
Considering Rainbow Railroad revealed there have been 700 evacuation requests from LGBT Afghans since August, that’s a lot of people in serious danger simply for seeking help.
Rainbow Railroad is calling on all governments to help with the influx of evacuation requests from LGBT Afghans. “We are calling on both the Canadian and U.S. governments, as countries equipped to carry out such operations, to work with us to airlift more people out of harm’s way.”
It’s essential that other countries join the UK in evacuating LGBT Afghans before it is too late. Reach out to politicians of all levels to advocate for the safe migration of these people being tortured and/or murdered for their sexual orientation. Click here to donate to Rainbow Railroad.
