Thousands of dollars in donations intended to help Afghan civilians desperate for help blocked

Thousands of dollars in donations raised to help Afghan civilians, including one aimed at helping the nation’s underground LGBTQI community, have been temporarily blocked by one of the world’s largest fundraising platforms.

Thousands of dollars in donations raised to send to the people of Afghanistan are unable to be accessed after one of the world’s largest fundraising platforms restricted all accounts related to the war-torn nation.

In a post to Twitter, Afghan-Australian Bobuq Sayed, 27, claimed GoFundMe had blocked access to more than $US20,000 intended to help lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) people escape the Taliban takeover as the coalition of US and other Western forces withdraw after 20 years.

“Gofundme are preventing us from accessing the 21K for queer and trans Afghans that we raised, they want us to donate to a charity instead (sic),” he wrote.

The claim was later confirmed by a GoFundMe Australia spokeswoman.

The fundraising account, titled ‘Emergency Help for LGBTQ Afghans in Afghanistan’ had raised more than $US24,000 of a $20,000 goal in four days, with people still donating Tuesday night.

People run on tarmac of Kabul international airport as a US military aircraft attempts to take off in this still from a video. Picture: Supplied

An email sent by GoFundMe support and sighted by The Courier-Mail suggested the money be donated to charity instead.

“Unfortunately, we are unable to approve the withdrawal plan due to the crisis,” the email stated.

“In order to withdraw the funds at this time, we request that you deliver funds to a charity or non-profit organisation. Please let me know if you have an organisation in mind, and we can support you in moving forward.”

The GoFundMe spokeswoman said the account was just one of all fundraisers connected to Afghanistan being reviewed.

“Due to the rapid and recent developments in Afghanistan, the GoFundMe Trust and Safety team is currently in the process of reviewing all fundraisers in connection to Afghanistan,” she said.

“The team will continue to communicate directly with the organisers to ensure that funds are delivered safely, securely and in compliance with laws related to financial transactions.”

She said GoFundMe staff members were working with the fundraiser organisers to complete the standard vetting process.

“As part of the standard due diligence process, GoFundMe places a temporary hold on the release of funds until a clear withdrawal plan has been finalised,” she said.

“For international crisis situations, our Trust and Safety experts implement crisis protocols, working directly with organisers and beneficiaries to ensure compliance with laws related to financial transactions.

“As always, we aim to release the funds as quickly as possible, while also maintaining compliance with laws related to financial transactions,” she said.

Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the airport in Kabul on Monday, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan's 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city's airport trying to flee the group's feared hard line brand of Islamist rule. Picture: Wakil Kohsar/AFP

On the account, Bobuq – who was born in Australia to Afghan refugees, grew up in Perth and moved to Melbourne when he was 18 – Qais Munhazim, and the two other campaign organisers said queer and trans Afghans were “at the centre of this violence as socio-economic means were already limited for them.”

“The funds collected from this fundraising will be delivered to queer and Trans Afghans in Afghanistan to help them escape, pay for their ID card, passport expenses, travel and or just buy food and meet any other needs,” they wrote.

“Your donation will be hand delivered to these individuals by trusted queer and trans Afghans themselves on the ground.”

It is a crime to be a homosexual in Afghanistan, an Islamic nation, with those in the LGBTQI community forced to keep their sexual orientation and gender identities secret.

Punishment for those caught ranges from a prison sentence to death.

Afghan passengers sit as they wait to leave the Kabul airport in Kabul on Monday as thousands of people mobbed the city's airport trying to flee the country after the Taliban took over. Picture: Wakil Kohsar/AFP

The fundraising organisers, including Bobuq and identifies as a “queer and non-binary person” wrote they could not reveal the names of the people working with them in-country to try to help the underground community for safety reasons.

“We met them, much like how the three of us met: Covertly, seeking desperately to disrupt isolation in the face of being exposed, attacked or even worse,” they wrote.

“... However, they have been working with and supporting the often underground organising and community-building LGBTQI folks in Afghanistan for years.”

The GoFundMe spokeswoman said the organisation deployed teams to monitor unfolding times of crisis.

She said donors could be issued with a refund in the “rare case” the Trust and Safety experts were unable to verify funds would reach their intended destination.