Five for Fighting’s new video & song will raise money for those hurt by the Afghanistan withdrawal

Last year, Five for Fighting — aka John Ondrasik — released a new song called “Blood On My Hands,” which summed up his anger about the U.S. withdrawal strategy from Afghanistan. After many veterans thanked John for writing the song, he’s now expanded it into a video, as well as a charity initiative.

An acoustic version of the song, “Blood On My Hands (White House Version),” has now been released on Spotify, iTunes and Apple Music, and it comes with a “docu-music video” that shows John performing the song in front of the White House, interspersed with a montage of news reports on the devastating effects that the withdrawal has had on the people of Afghanistan, particularly women, children and artists.

The video ends with an interview John did with Amrullah Saleh, the former vice president of Afghanistan, and includes a donation link to John’s charity site, WhatKindofWorldDoYouWant.com. The money from that, as well from sales from the two versions of the song, will go to various charitable organizations.

Those charities, which include the Afghanistan National Institute of Music and the Gary Sinise Foundation, are working to help evacuate individuals who are still trapped in Afghanistan, provide support and services for Afghan veterans, and magnify the voices of artists who managed to escape the Taliban.

In a statement, John says, “This music video…is call to action… to demand accountability where there has been none; to fiercely fight for Afghan women and children facing the greatest human rights setback of our generation; to support freedom of expression for artists in hiding; and to recognize and assist [the] heroic organizations rescuing [those] who still, to this day, are abandoned to Taliban atrocity.”