SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Saturday, the San Diego Afghan community held a 'Stop Killing Afghans' protest at Waterfront Park.
"We are strong, we are resilient, hear our voices as we will never be silenced," Sara Anas, one of the organizers, said to a large crowd.
Dozens of people gathered with Afghan flags and posters that read 'Stop killing Afghans' and 'Take in the refugees you created.'
"We feel so terrible for being the ones who are here and safe while the rest of our country is struggling so hard," Anas said.
Mursel Sabir, who also helped organize the event, said the purpose of the demonstration is to uplift the Afghan people and be a voice for the voiceless.
"To recognize the need that we need to be supporting refugees, we need to be supporting Afghan nationals who our country has promised to provide visas for," Sabir said.
Many in the Afghan community have families still in Afghanistan who are unable to leave.
With the U.S. withdrawal deadline, Aug. 31, fast approaching, their plea for help from the Biden Administration is even stronger than before.
"My people feel abandoned. They're absolutely abandoned back home," Anas said. "The deadline was very short. There's a lot of people that meet the requirement to leave the country."
The group demands the Biden Administration extend the deadline to ensure all Afghans in danger of the Taliban can see asylum.
They're also calling on local and state officials to provide Afghan refugees with the resources they need to resettle.
“We want to be able to enable incoming families to get up on their feet and resume, you know, what they would like to do to provide for their families as well," Sabir said.
The protest is part of a global movement in support of protecting Afghans seeking asylum from the Taliban.
