Welcome to Episode 59 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. Our guest this week is Leslie Merriman, whose work volunteering to aid Afghan special immigrant visa recipients through No One Left Behind became a broader mission of feeding SIV applicants left behind in the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal in August 2021. Leslie’s work has now expanded to include coordinating medical care for communities, particularly in minority-dominated regions, with limited facilities, supplies, and doctors. Through Leslie’s medical clinics, she began explicitly supporting a large number of women and children who have been raped by members of the Taliban. She has started nonprofit organization Our Culture is Giving to coordinate emotional and physical assistance for these victims.

Leslie discussed the harrowing level of hunger impacting Afghans, including children who came to her clinics and were in such a state of malnutrition that they could not be saved. She also discussed the doctors working in her clinics who have been killed by the Taliban, and the women and children who have been raped by Taliban members, whom she is currently helping to rebuild their lives free from the trauma and stigma of the assaults they faced.

Leslie also discusses the deep and traumatic impact that her work has made on her life.

About our guest:

Follow Leslie on Twitter @LeslieAMerriman or Instagram @ourcultureislove, and support Our Culture is Giving by visiting their website, http://ourcultureisgiving.org

About the host:

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as a civilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner. Follow her on Instagram or X ⁠@BWBailey85⁠.

For Afghan listeners:

If you would like to have your story considered for a future episode, please send us a letter about your experiences to our show e-mail address, [email protected]. Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.