Canada is failing refugees who are fleeing the Taliban

By any measure, Afghanistan is a horrid place to live.

For example, the Global Peace Index that is compiled annually by the highly respected Institute for Economics and Peace in Sydney, Australia, rates Afghanistan as the least peaceful country in the world, and the worst country for terrorism.

That dismal combination has forced more than 2.6 million Afghans to flee. Thousands more are still trying to get out after the Taliban regained control last August. Among them are the Afghan citizens and their families who provided critical support to the foreign armed forces who were there before the Taliban overthrew the government.

That includes 40,000 Canadian armed forces members who were fighting the Taliban from 2001 to 2014. They relied on Afghans interpreters, security personnel, embassy staff and fixers who risked their lives to support Canadian soldiers, and now they and their families are living in fear, living in safe houses, and living with the frustration of having to deal with Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Since the Taliban regained control, 10,605 Afghan refugees have arrived in Canada. That’s about 1,300 a month. By comparison, the United States, who launched the war in Afghanistan after 9/ 11, has landed more than 74,000 refugees — about 9,250 a month. The U.S. is bigger, stronger and faster. But is it so much bigger, stronger and faster to bring in refugees at seven times the pace of Canada?

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser blames the Taliban. He recently said there are thousands of Afghans who have been approved to come to Canada, but who are being blocked by the Taliban. But among Afghan refugees already here, there is frustration and bewilderment at Canada’s laggardly pace. They say IRCC is very slow to respond if it responds at all. Their frustration is compounded when they see the speed with which Canada is bringing in those who are fleeing the carnage in Ukraine — a sentiment that was carefully expressed by two former interpreters who appeared before a parliamentary committee this month.

They pleaded for faster and simpler visa approvals and travel documents, and warned that the Taliban is hunting for Afghans who worked with the foreign armed forces. When they are found they are beaten — or worse.

Brian Macdonald chooses his words carefully, too, when he talks about how the government is handling Afghan refugees. He is the executive director of Aman Lara (the name means pathway in Pashto), an agency that brings Afghan refugees who supported Canadian troops to Canada. He, too, wants Ottawa to streamline the documentation process, which involves three countries — Canada, Afghanistan and a third country that would accept refugees and their families.

“The challenge is not logistics,” he said. “It is not impossible, and we are having some success ... But it exposes them to a great deal of danger just to have a passport.”

In the 12 years Canada had troops on the ground in Afghanistan, 158 soldiers and seven civilians were killed. More than 2,000 armed forces members returned to this country with physical injuries. Many more have suffered mentalhealth anguish and distress, including post-traumatic stress disorder.

These are the same soldiers who worked alongside the Afghan interpreters and fixers, or who helped to staff the shuttered embassy in Kabul. To allow them to languish in Afghanistan, and to force them and their families to hide in fear of the Taliban, dishonours the service and sacrifices of the Canadians who fought and died in that unfortunate country.