UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center, in partnership with San Jose State's Human Rights Institute and the UC Berkeley Afghan Student Association, created the Afghanistan “Scholars at Risk Fund” on behalf of our campuses to respond to the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan and the urgent need to help journalists, lawyers, and other academics—especially women—flee the country.
So far, we have raised $251,000, matched with a $100,000 grant from the the UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor for Research Opportunity Fund and $50,000 from San Jose State University. All of these funds will support 6 at-risk Afghan scholars and 22 family members to come to UC Berkeley and San Jose State. Funds support legal and visa fees, travel, and modest stipends.