星空传媒

Skip to main content

Charitable groups in Afghanistan deliver call to action for Canada

Share

Individuals and organizations working to bring vulnerable Afghans to Canada published an Monday addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other high-ranking government officials urging swift action in the response to the growing crisis in Afghanistan.

The call to action, which was also sent to newly appointed Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, asks Ottawa to add human resources to evacuate Afghans more quickly, to clearly spell out who is eligible for resettlement programs and to pressure the Taliban to provide safe passage for people out of Afghanistan.

"This urgent situation requires an immediate, multi-faceted, and focused response," the letter states.

Former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy is among the letter's signatories, and says this is a key moment for the Canadian government to evaluate the situation in Afghanistan, post-election.

"It's a chance to look at the file, realize there are urgent and risky things going on," he told CTV National News.

Canadian veterans who fought in Afghanistan also made an urgent plea to the government, asking for $5 million to keep safe houses open past a Friday closure deadline.

While thousands of Afghans await help to flee their country, those who have already made it to Canada are revealing some of the fear they faced while trying to escape.

"When the Taliban comes all of your dreams just fall in one night," Freshta Aslamzada, who worked as a journalist until the Taliban took control of Kabul, told CTV National News.

Aslamzada was able to escape after her name appeared in a list as a Taliban target. While trying to flee, a Canadian soldier grabbed her hand at the airport in Kabul and took her to safety.

She now lives in Calgary.

"There will not be any Taliban members who will beat me," she said.

In a statement to The Canadian Press, Global Affairs Canada said it is working with charitable organizations, the Veterans Transition Network and Journalists for Human Rights, "to protect vulnerable persons in Afghanistan including human rights defenders, women peacebuilders, former Canadian Armed Forces interpreters and locally engaged staff."

With files from The Canadian Press 

CTVNews.ca 星空传媒

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

BREAKING

BREAKING

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Stay Connected