Stephanie Case, the founder of NGO Free to Run, is working to get staffers and Afghan runners to safety.
Stephanie Case is used to making appeals. As the Canadian born-and-bred UN lawyer and founder of the Afghanistan running non-governmental organization (NGO) Free to Run, it’s part of the job.
But on August 15, Case posted an ask she might have never predicted, even as the United States and NATO forces made good on their promise to withdraw all forces from the embattled country as the Taliban entered Kabul: “Please help, the window of opportunity for us to get our (female-led) team to a safe location is closing fast.”
"For the last ten days, my kitchen table has turned into an operations centre, acting as a focal point for comms with Afghans on the ground and special forces from multiple countries throughout the day and night—responsibility for such efforts should never devolve down to this level,” Case told Runner’s World. “Those who have been evacuated— team members who are at risk, including female leaders and women’s rights activists, paralympic coaches, athletes with disabilities and others—still have a tough rough ahead as they navigate their way to their new homes, a process that could take many months. Free to Run is doing everything it can to ensure that our Afghan families have the resources they need, whether they be in Afghanistan, Qatar, Ukraine, Italy, France, or elsewhere.”
Case is not alone in her invocation. As reports spread that the fundamentalist group had, indeed, not been living up to its public promises for a peaceful transition and the protection of women’s gains—and as women in sporting groups such as cycling, climbing, skiing, football, and running started burning their own equipment to avoid harm’s way— many female NGO founders jumped into action. They are now working around the clock to not only evacuate their female staffs, but also regroup and resupply their charges when those women reach safe footing elsewhere.
“[In July], I flew back to Kabul to meet with our staff and participants. I wanted to let them know first and foremost that Free to Run will always stand by them, and to hear from them what they needed from us … in the face of such uncertainty,” Case wrote in a blog post. “The strength of our program has rested in our ability to adapt and respond. We have always been led by the needs of our participants and this will not change.”
For Case, an ultrarunner who founded Free to Run in 2014 as a way to use running to foster women’s well-being in regions of conflict, the first priority was to mobilize all potential resettlement sponsors, establish a JustGiving page to receive donations, and start pushing through the paperwork for exit papers and visas.
“We acted early, taking precautionary security measures concerning our offices, equipment and documentation,” Case wrote, whose background with the UN in both Gaza, South Sudan, and most recently, Kabul, gave her a context from which she could sense impending calamity. “A Taliban spokesperson has indicated that the group will respect the rights of women, and NGOs will be able to operate, but we will need … to shift, to adapt, and to change.”
Free to Run had been recently preparing for the Marathon of Afghanistan in October. The Marathon of Afghanistan is an annual race that took place from 2015 to 2019 near Bamyan—an area in the center of the country about 115 miles from Kabul known for its dramatic cliffs, bright blue lakes, caves and citadels, and the huge statues of the Buddha, before the Taliban destroyed them in 2001. The marathon, run by a travel agency called Untamed Borders, had steadily grown and added shorter racers to increase the popularity. At least 40 percent of the field were women, coming from more than a dozen Afghan provinces, in addition to a wide range of international countries.
The Marathon of Afghanistan, which varied its course and location from year to year—and kept identifying information privileged—also inspired a documentary, The Secret Marathon, which debuted in Canada in March 2019. It tracks the story of Zainab, the first Afghan woman to run a marathon in Afghanistan, and legendary marathon runner, Martin Parnell, who vowed to support her right after reading her story.
Case won’t say much more about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan to protect the people involved with Free to Run. But the ultrarunner who is widely noted in the running community for her grit and tenacity ended her blog on this note: “There will be a way and we will find it with a bit of patience, creativity, and sensitivity.” She mentioned the phrase “we will not give up” three times.
How You Can Help Afghan Refugees
1. Donate
Case has set up JustGiving page to help evacuate and resettle the Afghan runners, and to ensure Free to Run’s ability to continue their ground-breaking programs. Currently, Case has raised $50,000 out of $100,000 requested. Free to Run also has the ability to set up a one-time or recurring donation through the Free to Run website or directly through Paypal.
2. Be a Free to Run Ambassador
Just this past summer, Free to Run launched an ambassador program, in which supporters received placement in the New York City Marathon and other marathons for raising $1,000 a year and wearing the NGO’s logo in races.
Also, if the country in which you live is not accepting Afghan refugees, call your local officials, parliamentary representatives, and others to tell them you support resettlement.
3. Volunteer your time and skill sets
Refugees need lots of services in their new countries: airport pick-ups, apartment set-ups, meal deliveries, and especially, trauma counselors, and immigration and human rights lawyers. This website founded by the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services directs people to needs and locales.
4. Amplify Afghan voices
Find appropriate—and non-identifying—stories about Afghans, their accomplishments, and their hopes, fears, and dreams across social media, but ensure that names are not used and faces are obscured. The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, in partnership with Vital Voices, has set up a special fund to provide emergency evacuations, housing, resettlement, visa applications, and other emerging priorities through a 20-year-strong network of women activists.