(OTTAWA) Afghan interpreters who assisted the Canadian military say the federal government lied to them by telling them they could bring family members to Canada quickly — and they claim some died in the meantime.
Posted at 5:23 p.m.
At a press conference organized by the New Democratic Party (NDP) in Ottawa on Wednesday, interpreters said they planned to start a hunger strike on Thursday.
They say their relatives are fleeing from house to house to escape Taliban searches and burning documents suggesting links to Canada, for fear of reprisals from the fundamentalists who seized power in Kabul last August.
Ghulam Faizi, a former Afghan interpreter who is now a Canadian citizen, said Wednesday in Ottawa that Afghans who applied for passports to leave the country, as recommended by the Canadian government, were then interrogated by the Taliban.
“The first thing the Taliban ask is: why do you need a family passport? Who did you work for and who did your family work for? “said Mr. Faizi.
Other Afghans have waited so long for Canada to process their cases in neighboring countries, such as Pakistan, that their visas have expired and they risk being returned to Afghanistan, where they could be persecuted by the Taliban.
Safiullah Mohammad Zahed, who is among those considering starting a hunger strike, accused the Canadian government of deceiving Afghan interpreters by telling them it would quickly bring their families to Canada. “We feel like we were lied to from day one,” he said on Wednesday.
Like the Ukrainians
New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan said the government should treat Afghans the same as Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, and expedite their arrival by processing their documents and biometrics once they arrive. they arrived in Canada.
The NDP’s immigration critic argued Wednesday that no Afghan family has so far joined a parent interpreter in Canada under immigration ‘special measures’ put in place last year. to bring them.
She said interpreters had met with immigration officials, including the minister, 25 times about delays and logistical issues.
“They were promised that they would bring their family members here to Canada within a few weeks,” said Mr.me Kwan. It has now been nearly three months since they submitted their request, in accordance with government instructions; 300 families applied, and not a single family member made it to Canada. »
Various logistical obstacles
Aidan Strickland, spokesman for Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, said the government remained firmly committed to bringing in these Afghan families. She says officials are doing “everything they can” and “using all avenues available,” but she says the process is mired in hurdles, including access to travel documents.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Federal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser
She said the government had so far brought nearly 10,000 Afghans to Canada, including on a flight that was due to arrive in Toronto on Wednesday — and that Minister Fraser would be welcoming in person.
“The Government of Canada remains steadfast in its commitment to resettle at least 40,000 Afghan nationals and is working to bring as many vulnerable Afghans to Canada to safety as quickly as possible,” she said.
Mme Strickland also explained that timelines are subject to different challenges depending on where Afghans are located, whether Canada can perform security screening and whether they have the correct documents to travel and access an open airport.
Afghan interpreters said that while waiting for their applications to be processed, several family members died before they could board a plane for Canada. Others lose their jobs, buy papers on the black market to go to Pakistan or live in hiding in Afghanistan.