UC Merced raising funds to save the lives of scholars in Afghanistan. Here’s how to help
.JPG "The campus sculpture entitled “Beginnings,” was first inspired by UC Merced’s former acting Chancellor Rod Park in the year 2006. The artwork was conceived by sculptor Aris Demetrios.")
UC Merced is seeking the community’s help in rallying for Afghans who are seeking asylum after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.
The university, along with its counterparts in the University of California system, is raising donations through Oct. 29 to help save the lives of Afghan scholars in crisis.
The campaign is being coordinated by UC Merced’s Center for the Humanities with the Scholars at Risk (SAR) network, an international collection of institutions and individuals that protects scholars suffering danger to their lives and liberty.
SAR is responding to the threat in Afghanistan by arranging temporary research and teaching positions at institutions in its shared network, like UC Merced, for Afghans working in academia.
“More than an academic issue, to me it’s a humanitarian issue,” said Ignacio López-Calvo, director of UC Merced’s Center for the Humanities. “Donations can end up saving a life or a family’s life.”
UC Merced and the nine other UC campuses have worked with SAR since 2017. “Now, with the major crisis in Afghanistan with the takeover of the Taliban, it’s even more urgent,” López-Calvo said. “I think we have a responsibility to alleviate what we can,” he added..
UC Merced’s goal is to raise $40,000 to match the Provost Office’s matching commitment. As of Friday afternoon, $1,500 had been raised.
With the community’s help in raising funds, López-Calvo said, UC Merced will be able to support an Afghan scholar and their family for a couple years. The individual would be able to do research, teach and — most importantly — live safely until it is safe to return home, he said.
SAR’s mission to protect scholars and promote academic freedom emphasizes temporary positions at universities. The aim is to allow scholars to keep working until their home country’s conditions improve and they are able to return, thus ensuring that the network is not facilitating brain drain.
If a scholar is placed at UC Merced, López-Calvo said the university could benefit from material donations that will help make the individual and their family comfortable in Merced. Although no one has been placed at UC Merced yet, López-Calvo said that the university has exceeded his expectations in stepping up to help.
“I’ve been very touched to see how my colleagues have donated,” López-Calvo said. “We’re literally saving lives.”
Donations to help those facing peril in Afghanistan can be made at UC Merced’s Scholars at Risk Fund page.
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 4:45 PM.
