A screenshot from Mullenger's GoFundMe video
Around the time that the United States military began mass evacuation efforts in Afghanistan, and when the Taliban captured Kabul on August 15, Charles Mullenger watched a Signal group he belonged to get flooded with messages. People on the ground in Kabul and Kandahar were coordinating exits for Afghans. “Over the last couple of weeks, it was literally people saying, ‘Hey, I've got a group of five people who are looking to get through X, Y, or Z gate at Kabul’s airport. Is there anyone there who can help?’ It was that granular,” he says.
Mullenger is a former Army captain who served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom from 2012–2013. He now owns Ethos Preparedness, which provides evacuation equipment and emergency supplies to places like hospitals, offices, and universities. As we talk, he pulls up the app and checks the messages. It’s two days after the final U.S. military plane left Afghanistan, officially ending the 20-year war, and there are 2,068 new messages in the chat. People are still trying to figure out how to get out of the country safely.
As he monitored the chatter, and when the news was announced that St. Louis would be welcoming at least 1,000 Afghans to resettle here, coordinated by the International Institute of St. Louis, Mullenger realized that he could help.
“I shifted my own personal mission quickly,” he says. “I felt like there were a lot of people closer to the evacuations who were doing great work, and I wanted to set my sights on helping the Afghan refugees who would come here, in hopes that a lot of them are the interpreters and the people who supported me and my friends over the last 20 years.”
After talking to International Institute President and CEO Arrey Obenson, Mullenger started a GoFundMe six days ago with the ambitious goal of $250,000 to help pay for three of the Institute’s needs: vans to transport the new residents upon their arrival, household items, and funds to increase staffing at the Institute. So far, Mullenger has collected over $32,000.
Even after the GoFundMe ends, Mullenger will be asking other veterans and volunteers to help welcome the new St. Louisans. “Every single [veteran] I've spoken to has asked ‘How can I help?,’” Mullenger says. “I think everyone feels the same way that I do in that they want to do what they can to volunteer their time and pay it forward for the people who supported us.”
Those people ranged from the Afghans who worked as translators for the military to those who did various jobs at the outpost like cutting hair. Mullenger also remembers observing the citizens, particularly the children.
“I was able to witness little girls walking around without a care, girls walking into school and smiling and playing,” he says. “Our presence was appreciated, and knowing that it could be going back to where it was under a Taliban regime is incredibly hard for all of us to witness. It strikes a chord for every single service member who spent time there, and even those who didn't spend time there. I have friends who served in Iraq and didn't make it to Afghanistan, but they're feeling the same way I am right now. The least I can do is extend that sense of freedom that we offered them for the past 20 years in hopes of getting some people here and offering them a new life.”
To donate to Mullenger’s GoFundMe, visit the website here. You can watch his video below:
