An Ottawa man who served in Afghanistan serving to the Canadian Armed Forces throughout its NATO mission is begging the prime minister and the immigration minister to assist save his sister and nephew from the Taliban’s imminent revenge.
“As a Canadian citizen and somebody who served this nation with pleasure and dignity, I now discover myself feeling ashamed. My service not solely introduced hazard to my household however has additionally ruined my complete household’s life,” he wrote in letters to Mark Carney and Lena Diab final week.
“Throughout my service, I saved many lives of troopers within the line of responsibility. Now, in relation to my household, I discover myself dealing with a wall of silence. Is that this not a slap within the face for my companies to Canada?” his letters ask.
His household’s uncommon state of affairs stems from his work as an advisor for Canada’s troopers in Afghanistan, the place he was born. He immigrated to Canada in 2005, grew to become a Canadian citizen, and was a college pupil in Ottawa when recruited by the Division of Nationwide Defence.
In 2010, as a Language and Cultural Advisor (LCA), he left Ottawa to affix Canada’s troopers in Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second largest metropolis, the place he had top-secret clearance to assist in the harmful mission.
Kandahar is the political base and stronghold of the Taliban, and when locals found his identification, his sister and her household nonetheless dwelling in Afghanistan had been focused with threats and warnings, he mentioned.
“Of their eyes we had been serving to the infidels,” he mentioned.
His sister’s husband, a police officer, was shot lifeless in 2013 and she or he was informed “that is the consequence you face.” After continued threats and fears for her youngsters as they grew to become adults, they fled Afghanistan in 2018, he mentioned. They sought refugee standing in Turkey.
(The person’s identification was protected by Canada’s Federal Court docket in a current continuing about his case due to hazard to his relations for his work with the navy. He requested that his identify not be revealed for concern it might trigger additional hurt to his household overseas.)
Ever since his household left Afghanistan, he has labored to get them to security in Canada, with out success.
After the Taliban returned to energy in 2021, Canada introduced a particular immigration coverage to assist LCAs deliver household right here. It was restricted to household nonetheless in Afghanistan across the time when Kabul fell to the Taliban, that means his sister was ineligible as a result of she left earlier than that.
He fears it should quickly be too late.
His sister and considered one of her grownup sons have now been ordered deported again to Afghanistan from Turkey the place they sought asylum. Nationwide Submit has seen a duplicate of her deportation order. The household believes they are going to be focused and punished by the Taliban if they’re returned. The Taliban stays listed as a terrorist group by the Canadian authorities.
“My sister who misplaced her husband due to my service to Canada is now doubtless going to lose her life due to my service, and this nation is not going to do something,” he mentioned in an interview.
He has been writing to officers in Ottawa for years making an attempt to unravel the issue. After seeing how imminent her deportation could possibly be, he tried one other plea to Carney and different authorities officers.
“How are you going to reconcile the sacrifices I made in service to Canada with the present neglect my household is experiencing?” he requested in his letter emailed Thursday, and skim by the Submit. “Why are the lives of my relations, who’re in danger because of my service, not being prioritized?”
On Monday, he obtained a reply from the Prime Minister’s Workplace.
“Whereas I’m sympathetic to the circumstances you describe, Prime Minister Carney is unable to personally intervene or offer you direct help on this matter,” mentioned the PMO’s government correspondence officer. “Whereas the Prime Minister appreciates the time you’ve got taken to share your considerations, he’ll depart your feedback to be thought of by the Minister (of Immigration).”
The previous LCA mentioned it’s irritating. He has requested Diab, the minister, and her predecessors for assist and mentioned he has made no progress.
He instantly wrote again to the PMO: “I kindly urge the Prime Minister to look into this case, because it has reached a crucial juncture, and it’s important that we act swiftly to forestall irreversible penalties. I enchantment to the federal government to satisfy its ethical and moral accountability on this case.”
Nationwide Submit despatched requests final week for remark from Diab and from David McGuinty, minister of defence. Neither minister responded.
A spokesman for the ministry of immigration mentioned they declined to touch upon this particular case, citing privateness laws.
“Canada is worried with the deportation of Afghan refugees and the state of affairs they could face upon return to Afghanistan, and continues to have interaction with companions within the area,” the assertion mentioned.
Canada has helped resettle 59,000 Afghans for the reason that fall of Kabul in August 2021, the ministry mentioned, though consumption for its particular Afghan applications is now closed.
In the meantime, the previous LCA mentioned Canada is sending a horrible message to those that is perhaps known as on sooner or later to make use of their language abilities and native data to assist Canada overseas, wherever the subsequent world disaster unfolds.
• E-mail: ahumphreys@postmedia.com | X: AD_Humphreys
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