'I am free to learn here': An Afghan girl's journey from Kabul to Canada

Nargis Attaiee was 17 when the Taliban took control of Kabul, something she never believed could happen. Six days later, her family would flee the country and start a journey ending here in Edmonton.

Attaiee and her family are a few of the 800 Afghan refugees that have been settled in central Alberta since the Taliban regained control in Afghanistan in August of 2021, and part of a growing number of refugees being resettled with the support of Catholic Social Services.

Attaiee said the takeover happened at the end of the school year, as her class was writing one of their Grade 12 finals. In the middle of the test, she said the teacher suddenly told the class to pack up their things and leave:The Taliban had taken control of the capital and the kids needed to get home.

"On the way to home, nothing was normal," Attaiee said. "People were wandering around . . . like deer wandering around the city, not knowing where to escape."

"That was the last that I saw my school. That was the last that I saw my friends."

She said her mother, who died three weeks before Kabul fell, had told her about the Taliban's previous regime, when girls were banned from going to school. But, she adds, it was still hard to believe that something like that could happen in the 21st century.

"In the matter of one night, we all said goodbye to my family, my friends and my hometown," she adds.

Her family and a group of other Afghan refugees spent five months in Pakistan before coming to Canada, arriving in Edmonton in January 2022. Over the winter she learned to skate and play hockey, she said, and she's currently finishing high school at Centre High, with her sights set on starting university in 2023.

"After being in Edmonton, Canada, everything has changed in my life. I started school, I met new friends," Attaiee said, adding that after school this summer, she volunteered at Free Play for Kids as a junior coach.

"But still there are thousands of girls in Afghanistan who cannot go to school," she adds. "Their dreams are being destroyed."

"I really want the world to hear our voice. And not only feeling pity for us, but also helping us."

SIGN OF HOPE

Attaiee and her family are part of a growing number of refugees coming in the province assisted by Catholic Social Services (CSS).

Kathryn Friesen, director of immigration and settlement services at the CSS, said the current level of need in the province is unparalleled. The organization is set up to serve around 500 refugees a year but are currently handling three times their capacity, she explains.

As well as the commitment to help settle people fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan, Friesen said the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to more refugees needing significant support through services like cross-cultural counselling and temporary housing.

"We expect the high number of refugees arriving in our community to continue while we work towards reaching the target of 40,000 Afghan refugees and as we continue to resettle refugees from other parts of the world," Friesen adds.

The organization's resources are strained under the increased need by different groups in the province, said Troy Davies, CSS CEO, and this year's annual Sign of Hope campaign is looking for half a million dollars more than last year, for a total of $2.6 million.

"I don't know if there's been many situations that have paralleled the need that we have right now just given the economic situation in Alberta, given the various refugee crises around the world," Davies said.

Money raised will go to helping several vulnerable populations in the province, he said, including people who have recently moved out of homelessness, isolated seniors, women and children escaping domestic violence and newcomers like Attaiee and her family.

The journey has been a difficult one, Attaiee said, but the support from CSS and the Government of Canada have helped her and her group settle into Canada, and start to heal and build lives with more possibilities than they would have back home.

"Here, every morning instead of hearing the sounds of bombs, sounds of gunfire, I hear the sounds of bird songs."

"And I am free to learn here."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Joe Scarpelli