A former student of mine in Stockholm was deported to Afghanistan in 2018, the same year I returned to the US. He was a contributor to my refugee theatre project: Crossing Borders, Sharing Stories. It used applied theatre to examine refugees' feelings of empowerment and integration when sharing their migration stories with an audience. Since the Taliban takeover, Bahadur has been in fear for his life. He converted to Christianity, much to the dismay of his family. Here is his personal statement:

"I was born in a Muslim family in a remote village, I spent my childhood in a extremely religious and traditional society in violence. I left Islam in 2015, this is a personal choice for all humans, but it is consider a crime in Afghanistan and those who leaves Islam are sentenced to death. Now that the Taliban are in control of all of country and I'm being chased more than ever. My relative are want revenge of me, they are calling me from different numbers and threaten me with insulting words like apostate, infidel, irreligious, and illegitimate.''

Along with a Swedish friend of Bahadur's, we are using Blue Presto Consultant Services https://www.facebook.com/blueprestoAFG/, a California immigration consulting agency started by a native Afghan to help Bahadur apply for a humanitarian parole visa. Afghans are currently being prioritized. The application fee is $575 and the consulting fee is $300. They are processing applications every day. If you feel sympathy for Bahadur and can afford to help us save his life, please donate what you can.

Thank you,

Elisé