FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: barrett.bogue@evocatillc.com  

Washington, D.C. - Evocati joined a coalition of more than 40 organizations today urging President Biden to fulfill America’s commitment to our Afghan allies. The coalition thanked the Biden Administration for extending the deadline to evacuate personnel beyond August 31, 2021 while noting other urgent needs. To better protect our allies, and prevent further moral injury to our service men and women, the coalition outlined the following priorities:

• Ensuring the safe evacuation of our citizens, allies, and partners.

• Working to end the escalating humanitarian crisis across Afghanistan.

• Securing Kabul airport and routes to it, allowing for the safe and efficient passage of all U.S. citizens, allies, and partners for evacuation.

• Granting humanitarian parole status to as many at-risk Afghans without a visa who must be evacuated as possible.

• Ensuring that all Afghans arriving in the U.S. have access to the same resettlement benefits as refugees and SIV holders.

• Adequately funding refugee resettlement agencies that are struggling to rebuild after four years of downsizing.

• If Afghan evacuees must be processed in third countries, ensuring that this is accomplished as quickly as possible in countries that honor the Refugee Convention and have records of respecting human rights.

“Many Fortune 1000 companies recruit military and veteran talent while nearly 25 percent of small business owners in America, including myself, are veterans,” said Barrett Y. Bogue president & founder at Evocati. “Small businesses are joining this effort because we either know an Afghan who needs help or we want them and their loved ones to come work with us. Moments for the military-connected community to set aside our differences and come together are rare. This is one of those moments."  

The ideological and operational diversity of the coalition underscores the importance of this moment and America’s response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis. Signatories include The Lincoln Project, Minority Veterans of America, the Black Veterans Project, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, the Lamia Afghan Foundation, and more. The coalition was led by High Ground Veterans Advocacy and Vets for American Ideals. 

In return for the Administration's support, coalition members will commit to, “confronting those who politicize the issue of refugee resettlement and condemn those who slander our Afghan allies to undermine support for their resettlement.” Veteran or military-led organizations are encouraged to join the coalition to #HonorOurCommitment. They can learn more and sign up at this link. 

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ABOUT EVOCATI 

Founded in 2018, Evocati is a marketing and consulting firm that partners with leading businesses around the country to grow their investment within the military-connected community. Their mission is to empower any business leader with a cost-efficient means to research, market, and grow their service within the military-connected community. Evocati is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business that operates in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

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