New status: ISF postpones fundraiser
First of all: We have decided to postpone our Firefund campaign for now. During this short text we'll give you some more information on why we've made this decision, how this decision influences our work and the people we work to support, and when we'll be ready to start again.
Why postpone the fundraiser?
When we launched the fundraiser, the world still seemed to function in its (somewhat) normal way. We did not predict a complete and prolonged shut-down, and though we discussed the COVID-19 situation as a concern, we still reached a consensus that reaching our goal was within reach. At that time the borders were open, people were still allowed to meet, and none of our planned events seemed to be affected. Furthermore we've continuously discussed the importance of hosting events to raise awareness and at the same time create the opportunity to contribute financially to the fundraiser.
As the situation developed, and the shutdowns became both more serious and spread to more places, it started to affect our ability to continue the fundraiser. When the reality of us being completely unable to do any physical events hit us, we did a serious effort to try to reach out to our networks to see if it was possible to get help from other places. The answer was the same everywhere. No one was able to actually host any events, and comrades everywhere were understandably focused on supporting their local movements and covering the damage done by the shutdowns.
Last week we released an article about the status of the fundraiser and how we were affected by the situation. We decided to put in one last effort to try to continue to reach our goal, but given the circumstances we have been unable to ensure the success of the fundraiser - for now.
How does the current situation affect our work?
First of all some of the local groups in Copenhagen are working to collect a small amount of money to ensure that comrades in immediate need of support can still receive the help they need. Most of the money that have already been pledged to the fundraiser came from people we are in contact with through our networks, which means that the money are not lost by postponing the campaign.
We are working on a way for everybody to be able to donate money directly to the campaign, until the Firefund campaign is back on track. We will work hard to make sure that the comrades we have already spoken to, will still receive the money they need, despite the current situation.
Due to the European borders being closed, and most airlines cancelling planes we do not expect people to return during the next weeks. This means that the urgent need for financial solidarity is also diminished, until the point where we hope to also succeed with our fundraiser.
When are we ready to start again?
We don't have an exact date, as we simply don't know when the quarantines and social lock-downs will be lifted. We have decided to wait until it's possible to make physical events again, which means that it's tied up to the development of the shutdowns. Our decision is to relaunch the fundraiser as soon as we are able to. Though the fundraiser is postponed, we haven't stopped working - in any way. We will continue to work and make preparations, so that we can relaunch immediately when possible.
Stay tuned!
We will continue updating ABC Copenhagen's FB-page, as well as the webpage abc-kbh.dk/isf. Help us spread all information, and feel free to write us onisf-contact@riseup.net if you have ideas, questions or just need someone to write to during the lock-downs.
We intend to use Konfront.dk for more important updates, but all content will also be uploaded to abc-kbh.dk/ISF.
Love and solidarity
Internationalist Support Fund
After just one week the Internationalist Support Fund (ISF) has reached 26% of it’s goal through help and support from comrades around the globe. We are still missing 74% of our goal – which means that we still need further support from you.
In this text we will give all of you an update and give you a little more information about the project.
In the ISF we are extremely thankful for the support we have already received. Times are difficult, and to organize a fundraiser campaign as the virus shutdowns are rendering us unable to make physical fundraising, presents some extraordinary challenges. We would like to share our thoughts on why we decided to launch the campaign anyway and we hope new comrades will see our need for support.
The preparations for starting the campaign have been quite long – we have contacted people, groups and networks to connect with them and we have been building up structures around the fund. We would, in many ways, have liked to launch the campaign earlier as we see many urgent needs arising from comrades who have already returned from Rojava and the ones who will soon be returning. But we wanted to have the preparations fully in place before launching.
There were several events planned through which we hoped to spread information and awareness about the campaign. The events would provide us with the physical spaces to break down the limitations of an online fundraiser. Unfortunately all of these events have been postponed indefinitely until the virus threat is at a point, which will allow us to gather physically again. In the mean time we are working hard to connect with groups and people who are able to support the campaign one way or the other in these times.
We have also wanted to clarify a little more what this project is about.
This campaign has been launched to allow us to set up a fund that can support internationalism – and in this specific case comrades returning from Rojava.
The situation at the moment is that at lot of comrades are returning to uncertain situations and several have limited or no safety network back home. There are many different needs that a returned comrade might have and we want to help them out with their most essential needs, in cases where their local structures are unable to provide the help. These include, but are not limited to; Expenses for medical issues, living situations, necessary travels, help with therapy, etc.
Through our networks we are able to communicate with some of the comrades that have already or are in the process of returning. This gives us an insight into the different needs comrades are faced with. That’s why our fund is much more than just trying to cover a specific expense. We are trying to set up a long term structure that will help several returning comrades and hopefully enable us to support the creation and maintenance of further local networks.
We urge comrades to help us with this campaign, even though times are tough. There are 22 days left of the campaign and we are working hard to reach our goal within that time. We are already in contact with several comrades in need of support, and as soon as the campaign ends, we hope to be able to send a good part of the money to help out these comrades. Furthermore, other comrades will return within the next months, so we are working on ensuring the funds,that will support them immediately after returning.
Love and solidarity
Internationalist Support Fund
Status on Internationalist Support Fund
