The IAFR Blog

Field notes, perspectives, stories, news & announcements

Responding to the Afghanistan Crisis

August 31, 2021

Women in a refugee camp near Athens
What are we to do if when we cry out to God, God doesn't seem to hear or care?

Surely this is a question that has been hollowing out hope in the hearts of hundreds of thousands of women, children, and men in Afghanistan in recent days as the US and NATO forces abandon their country.

As we have watched desperate people risk everything to find a way to safety, many of our friends and partners have reached out to us asking how they can help. One way you can do so is by making a donation to our refugee ministry in Athens, Greece. Here's why.

Afghanistan to Greece - Image from Google Maps

While the crisis at the Kabul airport is getting most of the media attention, many Afghan people are attempting to flee to Europe.

Afghan asylum seekers have undertaken the momentous journey across Iran, through Turkey to the shores of Greece for many decades. So it is no surprise that many are setting out on this stretch of the refugee highway today.

They will cross mountains, deserts, and seas in their pursuit of safety. And as they travel, the only thing of which they can be certain is that no country they pass through wants them to stay.

Meeting them in Athens with One Heart

IAFR is already in Greece, serving with our partner agency One Heart, a Greek mission agency that was founded many years ago by Sahar Kamrani, a former refugee from Iran. She became a Christian as a refugee in Greece and is passionate about caring for the body, mind, and spirit of those who are refugees today. IAFR missionaries, Ilir and Kate Cami, have been serving alongside of Sahar in Athens for many years.

They are on the ground today, ready to welcome, encourage, and serve Afghan refugees as they arrive. Some of the services they offer include...

  • Medical services in the One Heart Medical Clinic
  • Shelter services for vulnerable refugees
  • Baby supplies
  • Food distribution
  • Clothing distribution
  • Legal assistance
  • Visitation and hospitality
  • Pastoral care and opportunities for worship
The One Heart Ministry Building in Athens offers a host of services for refugees

Meeting them with Farsi and Dari

Afghans speak Dari, a language with many similarities to Farsi, the language of Iran. So Sahar is able to communicate with and translate for Afghan refugees as they arrive in Greece. As you might imagine, there are not many Christians serving refugees in Greece with her language ability.

You can help Afghan refugees

If you're looking for a way to help Afghan refugees, please consider making a gift toward the important refugee ministry in Athens.

While refugees from Afghanistan have long been a significant part of the ministry in Athens, the team is also serving refugees from Iran, Syria, and other far flung nations who have also been forced to flee their homelands.

Thank you for helping our team meet these uprooted friends with a warm welcome and much needed assistance - all in the name of Jesus.

GIVE TODAY!

IAFR missionaries serve so that forcibly displaced people encounter welcoming and caring Christians at every stage of their journey as a tangible sign that God sees, hears, and cares for them.


CLICK HERE to read or listen to an excellent in-depth assessment of the impending Afghan refugee crisis called "The shrinking options for Afghans escaping Taliban rule", by The New Humanitarian. Published: 8/30/2021.

- Tom Albinson

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