The International Anti-Fascist Defence Fund was established in June of 2015, when members of the Antifa International collective saw the need for a standing fund to be used to provide emergency support to antifascists when, as a result of their anti-fascist work, they were in trouble and needed immediate assistance.
Nine years on and the Defence Fund has provided emergency support to antifascists the world over, whenever they’ve faced dire circumstances resulting from their work thwarting bigotry and fascism. It remains the only international anti-fascist solidarity project of its kind (that we’re aware of). To-date we have provided nearly $250,000USD in emergency aid to more than 760 antifascists in 26 different countries.Since last June, we’ve intervened eighteen times to provide game-changing levels of support and material aid to 66 antifascists in Belarus, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Greece, Poland, and the US. This amounted to roughly $39,000USD in emergency aid that’s been provided over the last twelve months.
85% of the funds disbursed since June 2023 went towards legal defence, court costs, and fines; 8% of contributions went to assist former anti-fascist prisoners after their release. Providing support to the families of incarcerated anti-fascist prisoners accounted for the remaining 7%.
This was money well-spent; our interventions helped save antifascists from life-altering circumstances they were facing, solely because of their public opposition to fascism. Over the last twelve months, we’ve helped antifascists in dire situations stay healthy, get to safety, and stay free. You can read about the people we’ve helped on our blog with two exceptions – an antifascist whose circumstance require us to not publicly reveal any details of their case, for security reasons; and one whose upcoming trial might be harmed by revealing any details.
The Defence Fund is operated by the Decisions Crew – a body of antifascists from around the world who have made contributions of at least $20USD to the Defence Fund. Decisions about how the Defence Fund operates are made via consensus wherever possible and by majority vote in circumstances where consensus is not forthcoming. In our first year, there were all of 45 Decisions Crew members. As of today, more than 1500 antifascists from 25 different countries have been invited to join the Decisions Crew.
On average, the Defence Fund receives an emergency request for help from an anti-fascists somewhere in the world every three weeks. When that call somes, we need to have as much money as possible ready to go to handle whatever the situation is. That money comes exclusively from contributions made by individuals who recognize the danger that anti-fascists voluntarily take on to protect their communities from bigotry and hatred and want to provide support when it matters most. You can join them by making a contribution to the Defence Fund today.
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