The Kingston East Neighbourhood Group had its candlelit vigil, Prayers for Peace in Afghanistan, last Tuesday to show its solidarity with the Afghan community.
All faiths, politicians, and human rights leaders came together on the evening for nearly two hours of tributes and reflections, culminating in personal accounts from the Australian-Afghan Community.
Tributes flowed from 19 speakers, including Queensland’s Human Right’s Commissioner.
The congregation heard from Australian-Afghan Community member, Jarred, who shared the experiences of his family and friends who fled Kabul and went into hiding when the Taliban took over.
Jarred, whose true name is withheld for safety reasons, said the evening gave him hope.
“I really felt overwhelmed,” he said.
“Last night showed us that we do matter and we do count in the community, and they do care about us, and they do want to pray that everything gets better, so I really, really appreciate it.”
The service’s organiser, Ron Mitchell from KENG, said it was a small gesture to acknowledge what is happening.
“Brothers, sisters, parents, not knowing day to day if they’re going to survive, that’s why we wanted to find some way of expressing the community’s solidarity and concern,” he said.
Over the last few weeks, Mr Mitchell said KENG been inundated with requests from the Afghan community, who have been traumatised by the displacement of their friends and family members stuck in Afghanistan.
