Meme Account Raises $550K In An Hour To Save Afghans In Taliban’s Hit List
Photo 227272044 © Rmarxy | Dreamstime.com
People around the world have clenched their fists and shed tears over heartbreaking images shared by photojournalists of Afghans attempting to flee their home, now taken over by the Taliban. The sense of helplessness reverberates globally, but it’s not loud enough to rescue those in need.
As GOOD describes, we sadly can’t save everyone directly affected by this crisis, but there are some who can be helped. One GoFundMe campaign organized by meme artist Tommy Marcus, known as @Quentin.Quarantino online, is proof of the bright side of humanity.
Marcus teamed up with US military and special operations veterans, who possess knowledge of how things work or have contacts on Afghan grounds, in hopes to rescue hundreds of people from the Taliban’s kill list. The hope is to get the people—who include women’s rights advocates, translators, and their loved ones—from the country as quickly as possible via planes flown by pilots who wish to help carry out this mission.
Each fully-occupied flight would require US$225,000, and the initial plan was to raise enough to fuel two airplanes (US$550,000). Incredibly, that amount was reached a little over an hour after Marcus took to his social media profiles to promote the cause, GOOD reports. About 11,000 people donated during that hour, averaging a remarkable US$50 contribution per person.
Now, nearly US$4 million has been crowdfunded, and the goal has been extended to US$4.4 million. The organizers now note that the extra money will be used for “planes to keep doing more turns.” Untouched funds will then be donated to the International Women’s Media Foundation, which aims to protect female journalists based in Afghanistan for work.
[via GOOD, cover photo 227272044 © Rmarxy | Dreamstime.com]
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