The federal government must do more to help thousands of Afghans who helped the Canadian Forces but remain trapped in Afghanistan a year after the Taliban seized Kabul, aid groups and opposition parties say. As the somber anniversary passed Monday, NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan warned at a news conference that Canada will have blood on its hands if it doesn’t take immediate action to help Afghans whose lives are in danger because they helped Canadians. He called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step in to sort out the “chaos” at the Immigration Department, which he said has yet to process many applications to come to Canada. “No more excuses,” Quan said. “We don’t want to lose lives because if we do the blood is on the hands of the Canadian government.” Aman Lara, a Canadian non-profit working on the ground in Afghanistan to help people leave the country, said 8,000 Afghans approved to come to Canada have yet to escape. Many do not have a passport or visa, and applying to the Taliban for documents can put them at risk. Another 3,000 Afghans who assisted the Canadian Armed Forces and the government have not been approved to come to Canada, according to Aman Lara executive director Brian Macdonald. Kwan said 100 security guards at Canada’s Afghan embassy and a senior Afghan interpreter who received a certificate of appreciation for his service in Canada are among those trapped. An interpreter, identified only as “Mr. X” to avoid reprisals from the Taliban, told reporters at the news conference that he had fled to Pakistan but had to leave his family behind. He pleaded for help, saying the Taliban had issued a warrant for his arrest. “It’s a matter of life and death,” he said, speaking essentially from Pakistan. Kwan said an Afghan man she had contacted about his application to come to Canada is now missing. Wadood Dilsoz, founder of a group called the Afghan Community of Vancouver, said former embassy security guards told him the Canadians promised them help but left them behind. He said “their families and children are suffering every moment” and are afraid of being killed or tortured. “I believe it is our moral obligation to help those who have helped us,” he added. The NDP, Tories and Aman Lara urged Canada to expand the special immigration program for Afghans. It was created to house 18,000 former Canadian Armed Forces or government local employees, but is being phased out after reaching capacity. “We are asking the Government of Canada to keep the special immigration program open and unlimited until all those who have helped Canada leave,” MacDonald said. Canada reached an agreement with Pakistan in June to allow Afghans without full identification documents to fly to Canada from Pakistan for 60 days. MacDonald wants Canada to negotiate to keep that window open until all Afghans approved to come to Canada can get here. Official figures show Canada’s resettlement efforts have lagged behind federal targets and efforts to help those fleeing the war in Ukraine. Canada promised to resettle 40,000 Afghans and in the last year 17,300 have arrived. Since January, some 71,800 Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of their country have landed in Canada. Fraser predicted in December that it could take two years to fulfill the government’s promise to bring 40,000 Afghans to Canada. Quan said there was a “big difference” between the government’s treatment of those who fled the Taliban and those who escaped the Russian invasion. Vincent Hughes, Fraser’s spokesman, said the immigration programs in Afghanistan and Ukraine are very different, but that Canada’s commitment to bringing at least 40,000 vulnerable Afghans to Canada “has not wavered.” He said Afghan refugees who arrive through programs set up to bring them to Canada have the right to stay permanently, while many Ukrainians are believed to eventually intend to return to Ukraine. Helping to get people out of Afghanistan and into Canada was very difficult, he added, as Canada has no diplomatic presence there and does not recognize the Taliban government. In a joint statement on Sunday, Canada’s ministers of foreign affairs, immigration, international development and national defense said “we have witnessed the hardships endured by the Afghan people, with some enduring harrowing journeys to flee the country and countless others living with fear of persecution and retribution”. “Faced with a dire situation in Afghanistan, Canadians have opened their hearts to help people rebuild their lives, and more than 17,300 Afghans have arrived in Canada in the past year,” they said. Conservative critics Jasraj Singh Hallan and Pierre Paul-Hus echoed calls to expand the special immigration program. In a statement, they said Afghans’ applications to immigration programs have been lost amid “endless delays.” “Many applicants have received only automated responses, while countless others have never received a response,” they said. “It is a shame that the Canadian government is treating Afghans like this who have stood by our country while the Taliban are hunting them for their service.” Macdonald said the flight to Canada is taking so long. Meanwhile, humanitarian organizations working in Afghanistan are sounding the alarm that the country is in a dire humanitarian crisis, with 18.9 million people facing acute hunger. Asuntha Charles, World Vision Afghanistan country director, said aid workers have faced acute poverty and malnutrition, including among children. Reyhana Patel of Islamic Relief Canada said some families faced a choice between marrying off their young daughters or watching them starve to death. Afghanistan’s ambassador to Canada, who has no ties to the Taliban regime, said “the experience of the past year in Afghanistan has been very painful and disturbing.” Hassan Sorous said the Taliban quickly reinstated “repressive policies,” including restrictions on “almost every aspect of the lives and rights of girls and women.” “The forced occupation by the Taliban has caused enormous disruption to the constitutional order, socio-economic development, public services and civil society activities,” he said. The ambassador called on the international community to adopt a united approach towards the Taliban and put more pressure on them “as they continue to insist on their intransigent approach and repressive rule”. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 15, 2022.
