Afghanistan crisis: what can you do?

Across south London, we are a community that is committed to providing sanctuary for refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers. We are dedicated to supporting those who are joining us.

We are also determined to make the UK a welcoming and supportive place where people can rebuild their lives. This requires significant changes to the UK’s asylum system – changes we need your help to make.

What can you do?

Write to your MP

You can write to your local MPs and Councillors to:

• Encourage them to play their part in welcoming refugees from Afghanistan.

• Encourage them to protect Afghans already in the UK.

You can access a template letter for MPs here.

And here is a template letter for your local councillors.

Act locally by…

• Donating to LRMN!

• Signposting people to these Government numbers:

  • British nationals, and family members of British nationals, in Afghanistan – Call +44 (0)1908 516666 and select the option “Consular services for British nationals”. The number is available 24/7.

  • Non-British nationals in Afghanistan – Call +44 (0)2475 389980. The number is available 24/7

• Donating to the Lewisham Donation Hub, which is looking to support the Afghan community already here.

• Are you a landlord? Do you have a spare room? – Lewisham Council are asking whether you could help to provide homes for those fleeing conflict.

• Donating to the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association’s crowdfunder.

• Getting in touch with the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association about local peer support groups.

• Beginning a Community Sponsorship Scheme to support those moving into the Borough.

• Collecting signatures from the community and send a letter to a local paper. A template letter can be found here.

• Learning about what support is available to people fleeing Afghanistan. Government factsheets on their respective schemes are available here and here.

• Sharing the voices of the Afghan community. Examples include these stories from the Migration Museum, currently in Lewisham Shopping Centre.

• Supporting any of the organisations on this list who are seeking to support Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Lewisham and areas of South London.

Act across the UK by…

• Donating to Paiwand, who are making arrival packages for those arriving from Kabul

• Joining The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants’ campaign.

• Support Freedom From Torture’s campaign and sign their petition against the new anti-refugee bill.

• Contacting Paiwand and the Afghan Academy International about signposting to peer support groups.

• Sending a letter to Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab to urge the evacuation of LGBTQA+ Afghans. A template by Stonewall can be found here.

• Supporting other organisations, including but not limited to:

  • British Afghan Women’s Society: www.facebook.com/BritishAfghanWomensSociety/?ref=page_internal

  • Refugees at home: https://www.refugeesathome.org/

  • Afghan British Society: https://www.afghanistansociety.org.uk/,

  • Helping Hands for Refugees and Disabled: https://hhfrd.webs.com/

  • Grace Aid: https://www.graceaid.org.uk

  • Eagle Eyes Association for Afghan Displaced Youth: http://www.eagleeyesngo.org/

• Opposing inhumane detention action in the UK.

• Donating to Refugee Education’s crowdfunding campaign supporting child refugees.

• Sharing the Refugee Council’s information hub, bringing together the most up-to-date information in one place from a range of sources.

Thank you for taking action at this critical time.