Advocates are urging the federal government to speed up the process that would allow Afghan interpreters — who worked alongside Canada's military — to seek refuge following the recent closure of safe houses in the now Taliban-controlled nation.
Hundreds of Afghan families are on the streets as of Friday after the safe houses, which housed more than 1,700 Afghan interpreters, cooks, guards and their families, in the capital city of Kabul shut down due to a lack of funding.
Veterans groups had previously raised about $2 million in private donations, but said they would need an additional $5 million to keep the safe houses open.
"I saw one pretty concerning message that came in. The gentleman basically said, 'I'm trying to scrounge up enough money to buy a tent so I can live on the side of the road with my wife and four children,'" retired captain Corey Shelson told CTV National News.
Shelson told The Canadian Press previously that many of those at the safe houses will likely die. The Taliban assumed control of Afghanistan this summer as the United States withdrew its last remaining forces there, ending its 20-year war in the country.
In a message to CTV News, one man wrote: "The Taliban came to my village, first they burn my home and looked for me. I am trying to find a new safe house now, but I have a big family. So this is very difficult and we are very worried."
The federal government has not directly funded the safe houses, which have been regarded as a temporary measure. They have instead been funded by donations and run by non-governmental organizations.
It is now feared that those Afghans who sought shelter at the safe houses will now be targets of the Taliban.
Most have applications that are still being looked at by the Canadian government — applications which advocates are urging Ottawa to rush through.
"They don't have a lot of options and we, after spending almost $2.5 million, do not have anymore private funds left to put into this," said retired major-general Denis Thompson, who is part of a network of veterans, refugee advocates and others working to help the former interpreters.
Complicating matters further are concerns about how groups will communicate with those now on the streets and who no longer have access to the internet or a place to charge their cellphones.
"We've looked at these folks, we've vetted them, they fit the criteria that we understand the government to have applied, and we don't believe that 99 per cent of the population we represent should be punished if even one per cent of them don't meet the mustard, if you will," Thompson said.
The Conservatives have called on the Liberal government to fund those groups that have organized and operated the safe houses.
Global Affairs Canada has said little about government efforts to support the safe houses, The Canadian Press reported, citing security considerations.
However, it said it is working with the Veterans Transition Network and Journalists for Human Rights to protect vulnerable people in Afghanistan, including human rights defenders and former Canadian Armed Forces interpreters.
With files from The Canadian Press
