Global Metal Community Launches Fundraiser to Rescue Stranded Afghan Metalheads and Musicians

“Heavy Metal Airlift” on fundly aims to raise $275K to commission a military charter flight to rescue Afghan musicians.

New York, NY, USA – August 27, 2021 – Kabul’s heavy metal community is trapped and on Taliban kill lists for music that’s seen as satanic and “Western”. The government is not acting so Metalheads for Humanity is calling for the global metal community to rise up and raise funds for a last-ditch rescue mission before August 31st.

THE CRISIS: KABUL’S METAL COMMUNITY IS STRANDED

Afghanistan’s first and only Black Metal band, Rig Veda, has been targeted for its music, which the Taliban believes to be ‘satanic’ and ‘Western’, since its inception in 2019.

However: “Rig Veda is not satanic as the Taliban claim it is. We do it for freedom of expression,” explains band founder Metal Sam. Now the members of Rig Veda fear for their lives and the lives of their family members and fans. And they’re not alone. Other musicians are in danger, too.

Current rescue efforts by the U.S. are focused on evacuating their own citizens before the August 31st deadline. They are doing nothing to help Afghanistan’s metal community or other at-risk musicians and artists, who do not qualify for current SIV and P-2 visa schemes. And the window for saving them is closing.

“This is a shitshow of epic proportions. It’s clear the government isn’t going to do anything to help these bands. Our brethren are trapped. We feel a responsibility for what’s going on. The Metal community needs to act now,” urges Metalheads for Humanity co-founder Doug Cameron, longtime musician and metal fan who used to play bagpipes in heavy metal bands abroad.

And so Metalheads for Humanity, a grassroots organization of volunteers, is asking the global metal community to rally behind “Heavy Metal Airlift”: a new fundly campaign that seeks to raise $275,000 to commission a private military charter to rescue stranded Afghan metalheads and their families, along with other at-risk musicians and artists: https://fundly.com/heavy-metal-airlift-saving-afghan-musicians.

MISSION “HEAVY METAL AIRLIFT”

All funds raised via fundly will pay for a military charter plane ($275,000) to airlift Rig Veda and other Afghan artists from Kabul to safety. At the very minimum, the campaign aims to secure seats for 40-50 at-risk musicians and families on a rescue flight, starting at $1,500 per person.

Beyond chartering a flight or securing seats, any additional funds will be donated to organizations that are supporting musicians, artists, women, resettlement programs and other humanitarian relief, such as Artistic Freedom Initiative or Women for Afghan Women. The campaign will also look for the best way to support musicians and families that are stuck in Afghanistan, or try to leave after August 31st.

Additionally, any and all media stories will help artists and musicians like Rig Veda in their attempts to attain visas abroad and evacuate, which, until this point, have all been done in vain.

CALLING ALL METALHEADS

Metal bands who wish to get involved with the campaign or support it in other ways are urged to get in touch with Metalheads for Humanity via twitter: @metal4humanity.

About Metalheads for Humanity

Metalheads for Humanity is a grassroots organization of volunteers with one purpose: to mobilize the global metal community and do whatever we can to save the lives of musicians and artists who have been left stranded in Kabul during the Afghan crisis. Follow us on twitter (@metal4humanity), Facebook (@metalheadsforhumanity), and donate to our fundly campaign: https://fundly.com/heavy-metal-airlift-saving-afghan-musicians.

About DCX Growth Accelerator

DCX Growth Accelerator is an award-winning creative agency that’s renowned for its pro-bono campaigns to save bookstores and a local deli, and now it’s doing what it can to help with the humanitarian crisis in Kabul. Visit www.dcx.nyc.

Media Contacts:

Erin Levi
203-246-3233
[email protected]

Caroline Andoscia
212.475.2122 x.701
[email protected]

Media Contact
Company Name: Andoscia Communications
Contact Person: Caroline Andoscia
Email: Send Email
Phone: 212.475.2122 x.701
Country: United States
Website: https://fundly.com/heavy-metal-airlift-saving-afghan-musicians


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