'We're here to help': Aid organizations ready to welcome Afghan refugees to Edmonton
The timeline to get Afghans out of the country is narrowing as the Aug. 31 deadline quickly approaches.
Now, there are growing fears some won’t be able to make it out.
“We are witnessing humanitarian disaster that has got the making of a humanitarian catastrophe with the window closing in,” Edris Azizi, president of the Afghan Charitable Society, said.
“I can just feel the frustrations and desperation of every Afghan life that wants to make it out.”
'ENSURE THEY CAN BE SAFE HERE'
The local Afghan community and aid organizations have begun laying the groundwork to help refugees settle once they arrive in Canada.
“The situation is changing daily,” Sharon Yeo, director of immigration and settlement service at Catholic Social Services, said. “We’re anticipating there could be some arrivals in the coming weeks,”
“We want to be as best prepared as we can to serve those that are coming to settle into our communities and ensure they can be safe here with their family members and put down some roots.”
Azizi told CTV News Edmonton he fled Afghanistan with his family when he was 14 years old. They travelled for days through the deserts and mountains of Afghanistan to get to Pakistan. Once they arrived, they stayed in India until the government sponsored Azizi and his family to come to Canada when he was 16.
“We were looking forward to going to a country where we had a future an education, so many possibilities,” he recalled.
(Courtesy: Edris Azizi)
Courtesy: Edris Azizi
While Azizi remembers the harrowing experience, he said it doesn’t compare to Afghans now who are simply trying to get out of the country because they fear for their lives.
“We’re here to help. Let's get the most qualified and vulnerable people out before it’s too late,” he said.
Many Afghan-Canadians have been looking for guidance on what can be done for their families through various aid agencies but Yeo told CTV News the situation is too fluid right now to give a direct answer.
“You can imagine if you have someone that you know that’s trying to get out of the country and you’re not able to connect with them or you don’t know what the situation is how desperate and helpless that will feel,” she explained.
“I urge those in power to do everything they can to get Afghans out,” Azizi added.
“We need to continue the dialogue with the Taliban and have negotiations that would allow these deserving and vulnerable families brought to safety.”
'THIS IS A WORTHWHILE CAUSE'
When refugees do arrive in Edmonton, Azizi wants to remind people that it will be a “major” culture shock for them coming to a country with a different language and way of life. He encourages individuals to help ease those barriers.
“Edmonton is a wonderful city a community that is very generous and we always step up when there is a cause,” Azizi said.
“This is a worthwhile cause, people are coming out of a war zone and I would like to ask my Edmontonians to rally around the Edmonton Afghans and help us settle these people.”
At this time, Azizi said the society is not accepting donations but will let the community know when it’s set-up for that.
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Touria Izri
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.