A 10-year-old girl who had been allowed to leave Afghanistan to settle with her family in Canada was killed when gunfire erupted at a Taliban checkpoint.
Eleanor Taylor of the Aman Lara Group, an organization that helps Afghans leave the country, said the little girl named Nafiza was shot dead as the family returned from a wedding late on the evening of December 10.
The father’s aunt was also killed and three others were injured, she said.
Aman Lara only gave first names to protect the safety of the rest of the family.
Removing the young girl’s name from their evacuation list has been one of the most difficult things her group has done while working in this war-torn country, said Eleanor Taylor.
“It’s such a horrible thing. Just such a horrible thing, ”she said in an interview.
“They were among the lucky ones whose requests had been approved, but they still couldn’t get out. And, you know, they’re going out now without their daughter. ”
“It’s a terrible death,” Eleanor Taylor added after pausing.
Nafiza’s father, Bashir, worked as a carpenter for the Canadian military in a camp that the Taliban knew well, she said.
Alexander Cohen, spokesperson for Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, confirmed the girl’s death and called it “tragic and heartbreaking.”
“We condemn this senseless act of violence by the Taliban, and our hearts go out to his family at this extremely difficult time,” he said in a statement.
The family of five, Bashir and his wife, and three children, including Nafiza, had been allowed to resettle in Canada. But they didn’t have passports, so they had to go to Kandahar to get them and they attended a wedding while waiting for their documents, Eleanor Taylor said.
Bashir issued a statement about his daughter through Aman Lara.
Her granddaughter, the father said, was “extremely excited” to move to Canada.
“Nafiza was learning English before the takeover of his country,” he said.
“She was the top of her class at school. ”
Bashir “strongly believes” that his family has been targeted because of his work with the Canadian Forces, said Mr.me Taylor.
She heard stories of Afghans who had to leave the country for Canada and who put themselves in extreme danger to obtain their papers, she said.
“But it’s just tragic. Their names were on the evacuation list. They were so close. ”
The brutality of the Taliban, said Alexander Cohen, remains the main obstacle to helping Afghan refugees escape to safety in Canada.
The Canadian government has promised to take in 40,000 Afghan refugees, although the immigration minister has predicted it could take up to two years to keep that promise.
Alexander Cohen said the government is working to process applications as quickly as possible, and although there are thousands of people in Afghanistan whose applications have been processed, leaving the country remains a challenge due to the Taliban interference.
“We continue to work with our allies and a range of other partners to find new routes for Afghans to leave the country and reach Canada.”
Eleanor Taylor has indicated that she understands that it will take time to bring these Afghans to Canada, but that a solution must be found so that they can exit easily.
“This only underscores the terrible risk these people are taking to find a way out of Afghanistan to take advantage of the opportunity that awaits them in Canada,” she said.
“It is imperative that we all work to find a way for these people, especially those who do not have passports. ”