Saturday, August 28, 2021

The Humanity Bond

"Can you please help me? I am messaging from Afghanistan. I do apologize for disturbing you."
"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."
"Before, we had freedom. Before the Taliban regime, we had freedom. Before, it was normal life."
"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."
"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."
Ehsan, 29, last name withheld

"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."
"[I've heard  of Canadian visa holders turned away by Canadian soldiers without a] proper Canadian passport."
"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."
Tim Goddard, retired education professor, University of Calgary
Families board a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III during ongoing evacuations at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. (The Associated Press)
 
Professor Goddard's daughter, Captain Nichola Goddard, became the first female Canadian soldier to lose her life while in Afghanistan in a combat position. A loss that propelled Mr. Goddard to advocate for Afghan families desperately attempting to leave a Taliban-ruled nation, in fear of their lives because they had at one time or another worked with and for the Canadian military or Canadian diplomats or aid agencies.

He  has focused on working with Afghan families who had been active in the Teacher Training Institutions in Afghanistan Project. His focus was to do anything he could to help those families, including helping them to file their applications months ago. Government bureaucratic sloth in expediting the applications has both puzzled and infuriated him. He has seen letters to the immigration minister returned with automatic responses. Afghans waiting to hear if they would be rescued.

Thursday ended Canada's evacuation flights out of Kabul. Leaving thousands of threatened ex-employees of the country in peril, according to advocates for Afghan local workers who had aided the Canadian presence. One woman who had acted as an interpreter in an education program in Afghanistan sponsored by Canada is now in hiding with her husband and three young daughters, her name changed to protect her identity from Taliban repercussions.

She had applied to qualify for the Government of Canada special visa program for Afghan nationals and she was eventually given a Unique Client Identifier number. She anxiously awaited a text message from the Canadian government informing her that her application is complete and she could appear at the Kabul airport. Her husband had worked as an interpreter and was forced to leave his documents in his office when the family fled.
"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. This is life or death. 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. The humanity bond is shared with every single human being on this earth apart from thinking of their nationality. I believe in humanity."
Their desperation does not speak for all Afghans. AFP news agency has reported that hundreds of Afghans are planning on returning home from Pakistan with no qualms about living under the Taliban. "We emigrated from Afghanistan during bombing and hardships, when Muslims were in trouble, now, praise be to Allah, the situation is normal, so we are returning to Afghanistan", said Molavi Shaib, at the Chaman crossing from Pakistan into Afghanistan.

"I am returning to Ghazni, now peace has been established and we are happy that we are returning back to our home. It's much betder to go back and settle there", explained another returnee, Wali Ur Rahman.

Image
RCAF ARC Flight airlifting Afghans out of Kabul airport   CBC

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posted by Pieface @ Saturday, August 28, 2021

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