Frustration over slow process to sponsor Afghans

Zahir Alizai is frustrated. His family fled Afghanistan for neighbouring Pakistan this year and, for months, he has been trying to bring them to Canada as refugees. But his attempts have been unsuccessful.

He’s one of many Canadians trying to privately sponsor loved ones who left Afghanistan for neighbouring countries following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul. But strict rules for individual sponsors and limits on how many refugees organizations can bring over have left Alizai and others feeling discouraged.

“I’ve been trying to be a lawabiding citizen in this country and I’ve been working, I’ve been paying tax. But, unfortunately, when there is a need, no one is there to help me, no one is there to help my family members,” the 40-year-old Toronto resident said. “I’m really frustrated, really disappointed.”

The federal Liberal government initially promised to settle 20,000 Afghan refugees, then doubled that commitment to 40,000 during the election campaign in September.

Refugees can be brought to Canada by the government or through the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program, which allows citizens, permanent residents and certain organizations to sponsor newcomers provided they can support the refugees with the funds needed to start a life here.

But private citizens cannot sponsor those who do not have United Nations refugee status in the countries they are coming from, and organizations that sponsor refugees — called sponsorship agreement holders — have caps on how many newcomers they can bring over.

In Alizai’s case, his family fled to Pakistan, but they don’t have UN refugee status in that country, which means he cannot sponsor them as an individual. Several organizations that have agreements with the Canadian government to sponsor refugees annually have told him they don’t have any available spots for his family, he said.

“When I talk to my sister or when I talk to my brother and I see that they’re crying, the situation is really tough,” said Alizai. “It really affected me and affected my whole family.” Alizai’s sister, her husband, their three children and his younger brother left Afghanistan over fears of being killed by the Taliban since his sister was an activist and schoolteacher, he said.

Stephen Watt, co-founder of Northern Lights Canada, a nonprofit that sponsors refugees, said the federal government has not said whether it will waive the requirement of UN refugee status for Afghan newcomers.

“The information that we’ve all been waiting for and hoping for, which will help us do our work of privately sponsoring people and helping Afghans come to Canada, that information is just not forthcoming,” he said.

His organization applied to sponsor an Afghan family that doesn’t have a UN refugee status but has refugee cards issued by the Pakistani government about two months ago. “We just applied and we’re hoping for the best. Because the whole system is slow it might be six months, a year before we find out.”

A spokesman for the federal immigration minister said about 1,000 privately sponsored Afghan refugees have already arrived in Canada, including 350 who landed in Toronto on Tuesday.

The Afghan resettlement program is proving more challenging than others, the spokesman said.