On the 15th of August, the Taliban seized Kabul, regaining control of Afghanistan after 20 years. With the conquest of the Afghan capital, the evacuation of civilians fearing the new Taliban government became the priority for international powers deployed in the country, including Spain. Thousands of people were evacuated, most Afghans collaborating with these countries and their family members whose lives were in peril. Yet many thousands more were felt trapped after the withdrawal on the 30th of August of the United States, the country that had controlled the airport in the Afghan capital, the only possible exit route. 

 The urgency of the situation gave rise to an equally pressing need to inform people in Spain to galvanize, demand and channel aid as quickly and efficiently as possible. That was when we contacted CEAR and got down to work immediately on a proposal to help spread their petition to the Spanish government to promote the creation of humanitarian corridors in Europe to urgently evacuate thousands of Afghans in despair whose lives are endangered.

We looked for something very iconic so that the message could be decoded immediately.  A visual idea focusing on the need to convey that urgent fleeing of Afghans. We chose the very well-known emergency exit, painted in the colors of the Afghan flag and depicted persons of both genders to flag the situation of Afghan women who clearly bear the worst of the brunt.

 In order to leverage their popularity and media impact, we sought collaboration from artists, sportspeople and other leading personalities in Spain to help us disseminate the message and the petition on social media. Weeks later, we did a video with new collaborations where, through the voices of Afghans themselves who in one way or another personally had suffered or were suffering, we aimed to relate the dramatic situation. Following a script co-produced by Viernes & CEAR, they used their own cell phones to record videos requesting people sign the petition.

 The action was spread across social media and the graphic image, scoring 2 million hits, was projected in the Plaza de Callao, just off Madrid’s Gran Vía. Our intention was to make a direct call for simple action in familiar and un-institutional language, appealing to society’s commitment to the Afghan people through CEAR’s petition. We must never lose sight of the Afghan people. They need us.