TULSA, Okla. — As thousands try to flee Afghanistan, one Afghan native, who is now a U.S. citizen, is asking for help getting his family out of the country.
The University of Tulsa Legal Clinic is stepping in to offer its services.
“It’s pretty vital that they find a way to get out of the country," said Mimi Marton, director of the Legal Clinic at the TU College of Law.
Marton said a former client from Afghanistan reached out for help. He wants to get 19 of his family members out of Afghanistan.
“Including the grandparents and the adult children and spouses and several little children," she said.
Because of security reasons, we couldn’t speak with the family member stateside. Marton said any identification of him or his family poses a risk to their safety.
Her client’s biggest concern is getting his family away from the Taliban.
“It is not uncommon if they’re after you they will also go after your family," Marton said. "And so, we have a lot of concerns about the family members being a target at this point.”
Marton said the application to bring them over is $575 per person. So for this family, it will cost more than $10,000. The Legal Clinic started a fundraiser to help cover those costs. It’s also working with lawyers in Tulsa and around the country.
“This is a new project for the clinic to do something on this tall of an order," Marton said. "But we feel confident because we are linked in with other attorneys who are also doing this.”
If the family is able to get out and come to the U.S., Marton isn’t sure yet where they would go. Wherever it is, it will be a difficult transition.
“People don’t want to leave their homes, their businesses, their lives, their other family members," Marton said. "This isn’t like, 'Yay I get to leave.' This is really traumatic and tragic and really difficult for people to give up their home and the life they know and the culture that they know and come to a strange place.”
There isn’t a lot of time to get the family out of Afghanistan. If you'd like to donate, you can do so here. When designating where your donation goes, select "other" and type in "TU Legal Clinic: The Afghanistan Evacuation Project."
You can also mail a check. If you do, note that your contribution is for “TU Legal Clinic: The Afghanistan Evacuation Project” and mail the check to:
University of Tulsa
Attn: College of Law Development Office/ Westby Hall
Director of Development,
TU College of Law
800 South Tucker Drive
Tulsa, OK 74104
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