Afghan Americans used social media to try to help Afghans escape Kabul. But with the Taliban in charge, the internet is now more dangerous for activists.
Earlier this month, Arash Azizzada, a 33-year-old Afghan American activist, slumped in a chair at his home in south L.A. as he scanned the desperation in his Gmail inbox.
“People are randomly cold emailing me — I don’t know who they are — just, like: ‘Help,’” said Azizzada, a labor organizer who also helps run a progressive community organizing campaign called For Afghans in Kabul, the challenges of escaping through the nation’s last gateway held by U.S. troops were frustratingly analog: They had to navigate anxious crowds, armed gunmen, the threat of terror attacks, a handful of clogged airport gates, Western troops and the formidable hurdles of U.S. and Western visa paperwork and immigration policy.
“I’ve been involved with this work in the Afghan community since 2016, and I’ve never seen this much involvement from our diaspora at all,” said Lida Azim, a fellow Afghans for a Better Tomorrow activist based in Washington, D.C. “It’s because of social media.” In between juggling interviews and trading messages with activists and Afghans, Azizzada appeared on the popular Twitch livestream of Hasan Piker, a progressive commentator who goes by the handle @HasanAbi, to call for support. More than 40,000 viewers tuned in.
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