Safe houses for Afghans who helped the Canadian military and NGOs will be ‘downsized’

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OTTAWA – Some safe houses in Kabul, where hundreds of Afghans who have assisted the Canadian military and non-governmental organizations are waiting to flee to Canada, will be closed in two weeks due to lack of funds.

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An organization that runs the safe houses, where about 1,700 people approved to come to Canada are housed and fed, says “time is running out.”

Without government support, some will have to close because they don’t have the cash to keep them all open.

The safe houses, created for interpreters who have assisted the Canadian military and Afghans working with Canadian non-governmental organizations, are funded by veterans, charities and private donations.

Afghans who have already been approved to come to Canada must be told imminently that there are insufficient funds to continue to house them all, said Stephen Watt of Northern Lights Canada, who works with refugees.

Wendy Noury ​​Long, director of the Afghanistan Association of Interpreters, said Afghans with documents to come to Canada face being expelled “into the cold” in Kabul. He said the Canadian government has been asked for funds to keep the safe houses open, but has yet to be received.

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A spokesman for Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said on Friday that the federal government is still finding new ways to bring Afghan refugees to Canada.

“By working with our allies, civil society groups, neighboring countries and a variety of other partners, we are exhausting all options and finding new routes to get refugees to safety in Canada,” Alex Cohen said in a statement. written.

“An important part of this is working closely with a variety of veterans groups, NGOs and other organizations on the ground in Afghanistan, including financial support. Since the evacuations ended, we have worked together to help approximately 1,000 refugees leave Afghanistan. We are unable to share further details due to security concerns. “

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The safe houses were established as a temporary measure, a stopping point before traveling to Canada, Noury ​​said. But because so few Afghans can get out of Kabul, they are trapped there “like easy ducks,” he said.

Aman Lara, the Canadian non-governmental organization that manages the safe houses on the ground, said that because evacuations were so slow, it had no funds to keep them open.

“Due to the complexity of the situation in Afghanistan, Aman Lara unfortunately has to reduce accommodation support to Afghans who need evacuation before 5 November. Currently, approximately 1,700 people are in our care, ”the organization said in a written statement.

“We expected that applications would be processed in a timely manner and that evacuations would be faster. Unfortunately, our ability to fund adaptations has diminished and time has run out. “

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The accommodations are expensive and have been financed through private donations, he added.

While it is disappointing to reduce these adjustments, Aman Lara is committed and will continue to focus on the safe evacuation of vulnerable Afghans out of Afghanistan. We are working closely with the government of Canada and are exploring both land and air options to facilitate their journey to Canada. “

Interpreters and others who assisted Canadians stationed in Afghanistan were guided to the relative safety of Kabul before the Taliban took control of the country. Canada ended its airlift mission from Kabul in late August as the United States was completing its own withdrawal from the country. Thousands of people with permission to travel to Canada were left behind, including Canadian citizens.

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Noury ​​Long said there was “an inability to indefinitely fund these facilities in any kind of long-term capacity” and that escaping Afghanistan, including across neighboring borders, was becoming increasingly difficult.

Canada has committed to resettling 40,000 Afghan refugees who have fled the country and has established a special program for especially vulnerable Afghans, including women leaders, human rights activists and persecuted minorities.

About 3,700 Canadian and Afghan refugees, including former interpreters, were flown across Canada before the end of August.

Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan announced on Friday that Canada will resettle up to 322 more Afghans who have assisted NATO countries and their immediate family members, who must meet Canada’s admissibility requirements. This commitment is in addition to the 150 NATO-affiliated Afghans in the process of resettlement in Canada.