‘FINAL REQUEST’
AFGHANS, DESPERATE TO COME TO CANADA, PLEAD FOR OTTAWA TO REPLY.
As Taliban forces tightened their grip on Afghanistan, families trapped there begged for help as the deadline to get on the last Canadian flights out of the country passed.
Canada’s evacuation flights out of Kabul ended Thursday, stranding thousands of imperilled ex-employees of this country, advocates for the local workers, told Postmedia.
A woman, who was a key counterpart and interpreter in a Canadian-afghanistan education program, is in hiding with her husband and three young daughters. Her name has been changed to protect her identity and protect her from Taliban repercussions.
“I have lost the appetite for eating. I have no sleep, I have no comfort. We are in a situation that we cannot live,” said Aaela, her daughters’ voices heard in the background. “We do not have anything to survive. We have no hope.”
Aaela applied for the Government of Canada’s special visa program for Afghan nationals. Her application made its way through the bureaucracy, and she was given a Unique Client Identifier (UCI) number on Sunday.
However, on Wednesday night she had still not been sent a text message from the Canadian government telling her that her application is complete and that she could go to the airport.
Her husband, who worked as an Afghan interpreter, had to leave all of his documents in his office when the family fled. Knowing the Taliban will be looking for them, she said the family does not go outside. Her only priority now is to keep her family alive.
“This is the fourth day that I’m waiting for their call and for their email, but I have nothing yet ... I’m just checking my email each minute, but I really get disappointed,” she said, voice cracking with emotion. “This is life or death.” Aaela said she is pleading with international governments to simply think of them as human beings in need.
“I want the world to know, I want the Canadian authorities to know ... they have to accelerate if they want to do something good.
They have made us hopeful for a living, they have to protect us,” she said.
“The humanity bond is shared with every single human being on this earth apart from thinking of their nationality. I believe in humanity.”
As Aaela lies awake through the night, Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told reporters on Wednesday he would not comment on how much time is left before the last Canadian flight for civilians leaves Afghanistan.
But with the U.S. refusing to extend the country’s exit date past Aug. 31, Sajjan said the U.S. must “be the last to leave” as the country controls the air-bridge and needs to maintain control of the airport.
“As the Americans finalize their drawdown to meet their deadline, partner nations, including Canada, must draw down our troops, assets, and aircraft ahead of the Americans,” Sajjan said. “We remain dedicated to evacuating as many people as we can in the limited time we have left.”
On Wednesday, Immigration Minister Marco Mendocino said Canada has evacuated over 2,700 people from Afghanistan so far. In comparison, the U.S. has evacuated more than 85,000 people since July.
Canadian officials announced the end of the airlift Thursday morning, noting the security situation on the ground was rapidly deteriorating.
Tim Goddard, a retired education professor with ties to the University of Calgary, has been working with families who were part of the Teacher Training Institutions in Afghanistan Project (TCAP). His daughter, Captain Nichola Goddard, was the first female Canadian soldier killed in combat in Afghanistan.
Goddard has been trying to advocate on behalf of families stuck in the country to get them on a Canadian flight, with some families filing their applications months ago. He has criticized the government’s steadfastness to bureaucracy in an emergency situation.
Letters to the immigration minister come back with an automated response, and vulnerable Afghans were still waiting to hear if they were going to be rescued, he said.
“I put 37 letters in, and so far I know of two people that have actually gotten out, that got to the airport and left.”
Goddard said what he’s hearing is that Canadian visa holders were turned away by Canadian soldiers because they didn’t have a “proper Canadian passport.” He said he has also heard of people being turned away because the documents they had printed weren’t printed in colour.
“They’re saying, ‘Okay, you can go sir, and these three kids, but your wife can’t and those little two kids can’t.’ Families are being split up,” he said.
Postmedia emails to the Ministry of Immigration to confirm those reports were not answered by press time.
The Taliban have also said they will not allow Afghans to leave the country.
On the Calgary Herald Facebook page, a message comes through the newspaper’s inbox.
“Can you please help me? I am messaging from Afghanistan. I do apologize for disturbing you.”
The message came from Ehsan, 29, who was trying to reach anyone who could help his family as they waited to receive their UCI numbers. Ehsan’s real name was changed to protect him from Taliban repercussions.
Ehsan is in hiding with his family from the Taliban. The family of 14 people are running out of water, have no food, and no electricity, he said.
“For the last 10 days we don’t have enough food or water even,” he wrote in a message. “Banks are closed. Although I really feel ashamed to share this harsh reality. We really lost everything that we gained in 20 years.”
He and three of his family members have received their UCI numbers. But his mother, who is at the most risk for her work teaching women in Afghanistan, has not. Through her training with TCAP, his mother has educated about 4,000 Afghan women since 2011, Ehsan said.
His mother was the primary applicant when they sent in their applications to the IRCC in the first place, he said. The family filled out their application months ago but still had not received clearance to go to the airport.
Still, Ehsan and family have gone to the airport four times. Four times, they were turned away.
“It is not safe. They are beating people. Four times we tried. But it is not safe for children and women,” he wrote.
The longer they are forced to wait, the more dire the situation becomes.
“No one knows what will happen to me and my family after three or five days. No one can guarantee that after this conversation with you, what my future will be. No one knows,” he said.
Ehsan said he knew of one officer that was targeted and killed by the Taliban, calling it “routine” now.
“As a human, as a person, we are expecting from Canada government to just rapidly evaluate these cases that people have applied. As soon as possible. Because right now, it’s not time of patience or time of waiting. It’s a matter of life and death.”
Ehsan remembers what life was like before the U.S. and Canada left, and the Taliban secured power.
“Before, we had freedom. Before the Taliban regime, we had freedom. Before, it was normal life,” he said.
“We never thought this situation would happen to us. We didn’t even think we would leave Afghanistan. We have our feelings and thoughts with our country, but it’s beyond our expectations. It’s beyond our beliefs.
“Right now it’s a matter of life and death, if they can just help us to come out from this harsh situation. It is my final and last request, asking from the Canadian people, to just provide us a safe haven.”