Marcus, known on social media for humorous memes that target ex-president Donald Trump and tackle issues related to vaccinations and abortion, was stunned by the images of desperate Afghans hanging from a US military plane that was taking off from Kabul airport. Messages from Afghan women, children, LGBTQ people, social workers, journalists and interpreters to organisers begging for help to flee the country have also been read. Related: 'We lost': Some US verterans say blood spilled in Afghanistan was wastedĪFP has spoken to several of the main actors of “Operation Flyaway”, which was launched on Aug 17 and is ongoing, and reviewed contractual and budgetary documents related to chartered planes and arrivals in the United States. It is a plotline worthy of a Hollywood movie: a combination of the power of social networks, rapid crowdfunding and the logistical efficiency of American veterans that led to the rescue of 565 Afghans. In three days he raised $7.2 million and rallying to his cause were retired soldiers and former diplomats, as well as experts in asylum law, humanitarian aid and airlifts from war zones. With just a few clicks on his phone from his home in New Jersey, Marcus started what would become an extraordinary operation to evacuate hundreds of terrified Afghans. “I was more horrified and disgusted and just wanted to help,” recalls the 26-year-old New Yorker, who is known to his 800,000 followers as “Quentin Quarantino”. Incredibly, Operation Flyaway rescued almost 2000 Afghans, many of them apparently on a Taliban kill list.When Instagram influencer Tommy Marcus read that Kabul had fallen to the Taliban he sprang into action, without knowing that like-minded United States veterans were also desperate to do something. The combined efforts of everyone involved made it one of the largest humanitarian fundraisers in GoFundMe history. The prince’s mother and grandmother were both members of the Spanish nobility, while his father was Jorge Bagration, the famous Spanish racing driver from the 1970s. When the group began facing problems getting landing rights in the countries neighbouring Afghanistan, Major Jason Hatch, a former US Defence attaché, turned to his friend, Prince Davit Bagrationi Mukhrani. Hundreds of Afghans attempting to leave the Taliban before the deadline of August 31 were able to reach safety. He reached out to the Prime Ministers of Macedonia, Greece, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and drummed up support in the Commonwealth, as he was previously Vanuatu’s Envoy Extraordinary to the Commonwealth. This caught the eye of Ambassador Nair, who used all of his contacts to facilitate the rescue flights into Kabul. Ultimately, more than 121,000 people donated to the campaign, raising $7 million in a matter of days on GoFundMe to start rescue missions into Afghanistan. ![]() ‘Quarantino’ issued an online appeal to his 832,000 followers looking for financial support to rescue the vulnerable. The three unlikely philanthropists gave their time and efforts to collaborate and find a solution to the problem of rescuing innocent at-risk Afghan nationals that were stuck in Kabul as the Taliban were taking over their country. ![]() Prince Davit Bagrationi Mukhrani is the half-Spanish Head of the Royal Family in the former Soviet state of Georgia.Īnd Quentin Quarantino is the name used by Tommy Marcus, a 25-year-old New Yorker, famous for liberal memes and jokes at the expense of anti-vaccine conspirators.ĭIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, ONE GOAL: Shiv Shanker Nair, “Quentin Quarantino” and HRH Prince Davit Bagrationi Mukhrani He recently donated 2,000 euros to keep the centre going through lockdown, when funds were critically low. ![]() Shiv Shanker Nair, Vanuatu’s Permanent Representative to UNWTO in Madrid is better known to fellow Olive Press readers as a key benefactor to Big Red’s Animal Charity in Catral, Costa Blanca South. THREE MEN from wildly different backgrounds joined forces to save thousands of lives as Kabul was falling under the Taliban in Afghanistan.
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