The American humanitarian organization "Mercury One" is ready to finance the project of transportation, accommodation and education of Afghan migrants in Montenegro, worth 35 million dollars.
Their representative for the Balkans, Admir Barčić, claims that the migrants' stay would be limited in time (maximum 90 days), at a location determined by the Government, and that it would not cost the state a single cent.
Barčić has been living in Budva for years, and he says to "Vijesti" that he was previously engaged in various jobs in Afghanistan for more than a decade.
He states that during the Afghan crisis in the past months, he organized the evacuation of almost several thousand people on his own initiative, after the Taliban came to power...
He said that he was contacted by the "Mercury One" agency, which, he claims, is ready to allocate 35 million dollars for the humanitarian mission.
The proposal of the American agency comes only a few days after the Government adopted the Information on the situation in Afghanistan and activities aimed at considering the admission of refugees. Bearing in mind that, as announced by the Government, Montenegro is committed to active participation in global humanitarian responses, confirming that it is a credible and reliable partner to the international community, it was decided to form an Interdepartmental Working Group in order to consider the possibility of responding to the current humanitarian crisis and eventual capacity to receive a limited number of refugees, in accordance with the practice of other NATO members that were engaged in Afghanistan...
In an interview with "Vijesti", Barčić emphasized that "Mercury One" is looking for a Balakan country that would be ready to provide a temporary zone for the further movement of Afghan refugees towards the country where they will be resettled.
"It wouldn't cost the state of Montenegro a single cent, and I say that because missions like this are often misinterpreted by the public. We need to be told the location, whether it is a barracks, a camp, a hotel... We are ready to finance everything. With the involvement of a local non-governmental organization, after we get the green light, the entire project will be implemented, which includes equipping the location, organizing the education of the refugees, up to their vaccination, but also providing all basic resources, from food to hygiene. We are the ones who will lead everything, it is up to the Government, since it has shown readiness, to join this mission and approve the location, determine the number of refugees they are ready to receive. I repeat, these people will be there for a maximum of 90 days, as long as it takes to complete the procedure for obtaining visas, education... This is not the same case as with Syria, here we are talking about people who must be temporarily housed, and after obtaining a visa, they will be moved to desired countries", he emphasized.
Barčić pointed out that the public must know that the refugees will not stay in Montenegro, or even leave the camp.
"Where our people will do everything necessary to prepare for relocation. We just need a country that will accept the number of refugees it determines, so that people waiting for evacuation can be taken out of Afghanistan as soon as possible. By agreeing to participate in the mission, Montenegro, as a NATO member country, would show humanity towards the Afghan people, at the moment when it is most needed".
Reiterating that the state would not bear any costs, Barčić said that they would present a plan that would "stimulate the local economy through a direct injection of funds that will be spent on local sellers."
"This will help preserve the trust of the general public and turn each recipient of funds (local store owner, business, service provider) into a 'trusted partner' who then becomes a 'local ambassador' of the mission's goals," Barčić pointed out and stated that he is currently in Budva and Geno Garsha, representative of "Mercury one", with the aim of organizing the mission.
Despite the fact that Afghanistan is under the control of the Taliban, as Barčić says, he and many of his friends, such as the American organization "Mercury One", "work intensively on rescue evacuations".
Videos of the recent successful evacuation of 32 Afghan soccer players, which was carried out by "Mercury one", went around the world, he points out.
"Mercury one has evacuated about 2.000 people so far. Currently, a thousand people are waiting in the Afghan city of Mazari Sharif to leave the country. We have four planes and permission to take off, in order to evacuate these people, that's why we need a country where we can safely place them temporarily, so that they can go through all the preparations and be resettled in the USA".
They are hiding people from the Taliban, many Americans would like to help
Barčić points out that many people want to help the Afghans and that they are actively involved in, as he said, evacuation actions.
"Every day we receive calls from people for help. The destinies of those people are shocking, we managed to save many of them. We have created a network of almost 200 Afghan families, where we hide people, until we evacuate them. We are in contact with them every day, they are begging for help because they are at the mercy of the Taliban. Our mission was supported by a large number of people in the US - dissatisfied with the way that country withdrew from Afghanistan. Many of them believe that they have failed the Afghans... There are a large number of active and retired members of the State Department, senators and governors, people from the Ministry of Defense, Congress... They are here to help and have joined the 'Mercury one'".
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