Assessment of the "Emergency Afghanistan" campaign: welcoming Afghan students and academics to the rue de Lille

Accueil des étudiants et universitaires afghans

One of the main challenges of the "Urgence Afghanistan" campaign was to enable these students and academics in danger to continue their teaching profession or pursue their studies. Thanks to the exceptional mobilization of our donors, we have achieved the objective we had set ourselves.

The Fondation Inalco today wishes to highlight the profiles of these people who carry with them the Afghan language, culture and civilization that Inalco, by virtue of its identity and vocation, wishes to preserve and pass on.

The academics received financial support from the Foundation for their arrival in France and were able to join Inalco's team of teacher-researchers:

• Nazir Ahmad Rahguzar was a teacher from the Painting Department of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Herat in Afghanistan, and joined Inalco in January. His expertise will be mobilized on the most contemporary aspects of the art of Afghanistan for the Prefiguration Chair on Afghan Art and Heritage currently being created by the Foundation.
• Nadjibollah Manalai joined Inalco at the beginning of the academic year in the Pashto section, he teaches Pashto literature and language

As for the students, they have joined the Diplôme Universitaire Hospitalité, Médiations et Migrations, led by Inalco, aimed at training exiled students in mediation professions, or have integrated the Diplôme Universitaire Passerelle which welcomes exiled students returning to university and training in French:

• Tahmina J. was a law and political science student specializing in peace and women's rights in Afghanistan at the University of Herat. She arrived in France in December 2021 and has since joined Inalco's DU Passerelle
• Sohail studied Russian literature at Kabul University and is also a writer. He arrived in France in December in order to join Inalco's DU Passerelle
• Tahmina K. studied French at Kabul University, and in 2014 worked as a typist for the elections commission in Kabul. She arrived in August 2021 and joined Inalco's DU H2M at the start of the new academic year
• Hamid M. studied computer science at Kabul's Rana University. He is very involved in voluntary work, particularly in translation missions. He joined the DU Passerelle, which enabled him to then join the DU H2M

These students had all already acquired a level of French when they were in Afghanistan, which enabled them to continue studying in adapted courses offered by Inalco. The funds raised enabled us to pay for the first few months' accommodation and provide emergency aid to students in need.

The Foundation would also like to thank all the people who made this possible: Sophie Hohmann, Marie-Caroline Saglio-Yatzimirsky, Annick Suzor-Weiner, Sandra Aube Lorain, Martina Massulo, Amir Moghani, Gulistan Sido, Françoise Robin, Abdul Azam Azizi, Marion Gues (in charge of European and international projects for the PAUSE program at the Collège de France), Sephora Valloton (Inalco student in the master's program in literary translation, Persian language) and Justine Bérard (head of the Inalco BDE solidarity department)

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Edited by: Cécile Leblond / Inalco Foundation