People and organizations working to convey susceptible Afghans to Canada printed an open letter Monday addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and different high-ranking authorities officers urging swift motion within the response to the rising disaster in Afghanistan.
The decision to motion, which was additionally despatched to newly appointed Overseas Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, asks Ottawa so as to add human assets to evacuate Afghans extra rapidly, to obviously spell out who’s eligible for resettlement packages and to strain the Taliban to supply secure passage for individuals out of Afghanistan.
“This pressing state of affairs requires a right away, multi-faceted, and targeted response,” the letter states.
Former overseas affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy is among the many letter’s signatories, and says it is a key second for the Canadian authorities to guage the state of affairs in Afghanistan, post-election.
“It is an opportunity to have a look at the file, understand there are pressing and dangerous issues happening,” he instructed CTV Nationwide Information.
Canadian veterans who fought in Afghanistan additionally made an pressing plea to the federal government, asking for $5 million to maintain secure homes open previous a Friday closure deadline.
Whereas hundreds of Afghans await assist to flee their nation, those that have already made it to Canada are revealing a number of the concern they confronted whereas attempting to flee.
“When the Taliban comes your whole desires simply fall in a single night time,” Freshta Aslamzada, who labored as a journalist till the Taliban took management of Kabul, instructed CTV Nationwide Information.
Aslamzada was capable of escape after her identify appeared in a listing as a Taliban goal. Whereas attempting to flee, a Canadian soldier grabbed her hand on the airport in Kabul and took her to security.
She now lives in Calgary.
“There is not going to be any Taliban members who will beat me,” she mentioned.
In an announcement to The Canadian Press, International Affairs Canada mentioned it’s working with charitable organizations, the Veterans Transition Community and Journalists for Human Rights, “to guard susceptible individuals in Afghanistan together with human rights defenders, ladies peacebuilders, former Canadian Armed Forces interpreters and regionally engaged workers.”
With recordsdata from The Canadian Press
