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October 22, 2021
Australian cricket legend Ian Chappell is leading cricket greats in a virtual fundraising campaign in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), encouraging Australians to fight for Afghanistan. “Batting for Afghanistan” funds will go towards providing food, water and emergency shelter and will help build new schools and health clinics across the country.
According to UNHCR’s National Director of Australia, Naomi Steer, more than 3.5 million Afghans have been internally displaced and 635,000 people have left their homes this year, mostly women and children. “They’re now facing a terrible winter of conflict and COVID-19,” Steer stated. The World Health Organization discovered that COVID-19 testing and vaccination rates in Afghanistan have fallen since the Taliban took over the country. This means that around 1.6 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine will expire if not used soon.
“Ninety per cent of the funds that we raise will go to the UNHCR refugee agency who are there on the ground in Afghanistan,” Chappell stated. “More importantly, the UNHCR has had contact with the Taliban, so there’s communication between the two bodies.”
Chappell has been advocating for refugee rights for more than 20 years and helped launch UNHCR’s first Afghanistan appeal. He was inspired to act now when Australia’s one-time Test match against Afghanistan in Hobart, Australia was postponed indefinitely after reports that the Taliban had banned women from playing cricket.
The campaign invites fans to buy a virtual cricket bat to support the UNHCR’s efforts. It offers the opportunity to purchase memorabilia, including a signed shirt from the Australian women’s cricket team and Zoom conversations with Lisa Stalekar and Mel Jones. In addition, the auction also offers fans the opportunity to discuss iconic cricket moments like former Australian cricketer, Shane Warne’s legendary ‘ball of the century.’ Chappell also enlisted the help of fellow greats, including former West Indies cricketer, Viv Richards and former Australian cricketers Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh.
Chappell also fears for the future representation of cricket in Afghanistan. The International Cricket Council (ICC) specifies that any international Test-playing country must have a men’s and women’s team. Afghanistan may not remain a testing country due to the Taliban’s ban upon women playing cricket.
However, Tom Moffat, Chief Executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations noted: “Before focusing on sanctions or non-participation in events, the ICC needs to make a commitment to protecting people’s rights – not just its members – and to working with affected stakeholders – including players – and their representatives towards that.”
Source: ABC News
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