DENVER – Members of Colorado’s Afghan community are planning a protest for peace in response to what is currently taking place in Afghanistan.
Organizers said this is a humanitarian crisis that the entire country should be concerned about.
Nadeema Safi, one of the event organizers, said she has family members who are currently stuck in Kabul, but it shouldn’t take a personal connection to be touched by the thousands of people who are fleeing for their lives.
“These people are just like you and me — they want to be doctors, they want to become dentists, engineers. It’s so sad because I feel like people don't see they're just like us,” Safi said.
Safi said the purpose of the demonstration is to call for peace, safety, and freedom for Afghanistan.
Organizers have outlined several demands, including that the United Nations’ refugee agency put an expedited refugee resettlement plan in place, calling on U.S. lawmakers to increase the cap for refugees coming from Afghanistan, and demanding accountability for every group engaged in war in Afghanistan.
“If we're going to go ahead and demand together as one united front and one united community that there is an increase in cap of refugees allowed in the country as well expediting the process for these refugees and giving them help and assistance that they need, that's going to make a difference in and of itself,” Safi said.
The demonstration is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the Colorado State Capitol.