![]() ![]() ![]() Somayah, whose father was killed by the Taliban, was one of those evacuated to a nearby country on September 21. So was it all worth it? "Absolutely," said Herrera. The Pentagon and State Department have not spoken publicly about Operation Flyaway.ĭetractors note that the several hundred people rescued are a drop in the ocean compared to the 123,000 extracted by the US government and other states. GoFundMe, the large crowdfunding platform that handled the release of the funds, told AFP that Flyaway had complied with US and international laws and financial regulations. ![]() Kraft said two new flights with room for 600 passengers are ready to leave as soon as possible. "That froze everything," lamented Enrique Herrera, a retired US Air Force member who was given the job of "special operator."Īnother $1.2 million was sent to a women's NGO and around $1 million remains yet to be spent, accounts show. "Flyaway" flights that had already been paid for were cancelled due to the deteriorating security and soaring insurance premiums, but later were able to resume. The companies were in the process of organizing several additional flights when on August 26 a suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State group tore through Kabul Airport, killing more than 100 people including 13 American soldiers. US authorities have previously investigated Steele on suspicion of fraud, according to the Washington Post. The money was shared between several charter companies including Egyptian firm Mayfair and Kiwijet, owned by New Zealand businessman Nicolas Steele. They spent $4.79 million on chartering several flights that helped rescue the 565 Afghans. "This is the purest thing that I've ever done," Hatch told AFP. Jason Hatch, a retired army officer and ex-diplomat, took responsibility for finding papers for Afghans already in transit in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kosovo, Uganda and Albania. "Everybody had a shared sentiment that we have to do something," said Kraft, the backbone of the operation. He was approached by Raven Advisory, a former Pentagon and CIA security services agency, and enlisted Karen Kraft, a former US Army Reserve officer turned TV producer who heads a veterans association. The self-described "liberal-pacifist" turned to war-zone professionals for guidance. Marcus, known on social media for humorous memes that target ex-president Donald Trump and tackle issues related to vaccinations and abortion, was stunned by the images of desperate Afghans hanging from a US military plane that was taking off from Kabul airport. Messages from Afghan women, children, LGBTQ people, social workers, journalists and interpreters to organizers begging for help to flee the country have also been read. In three days he raised $7.2 million and rallied to his cause retired soldiers and former diplomats, as well as experts in asylum law, humanitarian aid and airlifts from war zones.ĪFP has spoken to several of the main actors of "Operation Flyaway," which was launched on August 17 and is ongoing, and reviewed contractual and budgetary documents related to chartered planes and arrivals in the United States. With just a few clicks on his phone from his home in New Jersey, Marcus started what would become an extraordinary operation to evacuate hundreds of Afghans. "I was more horrified and disgusted and just wanted to help," recalls the 26-year-old New Yorker, who is known to his 800,000 followers as "Quentin Quarantino." It looks to break $6 million as news of the fundraiser spreads.When Instagram influencer Tommy Marcus read that Kabul had fallen to the Taliban he sprang into action, without knowing that like-minded US veterans were also desperate to do something. As of publication date, the GoFundMe has raised more than $5.9 million. Quentin Quarantino, AKA Tommy Marcus, has been praised for his fundraising efforts. Reactions to the Quentin Quarantino Afghanistan fundraiser TV: Meet the anime studios behind Star Wars: Visions.His first fundraiser was a three-day event for Planned Parenthood, which raised $1.2 million. So far, Tommy Marcus has raised $7 million with his Quentin Quarantino page this year. It proves to me I’m doing something right.” That’s all because of the followers and the positive feedback. I started being comfortable with showing my identity. Marcus said of his meme page: “Quentin Quarantino stopped being an alias a long time ago and is literally just becoming me. He runs his Quentin Quarantino page, donating 20% of his income to charities, including Planned Parenthood and Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight. Tommy Marcus, 25, is based in New York City. ![]()
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