Elyas Zabihullah and his wife arrange the furniture in their newly rented home in downtown Regina.
It’s been about two months since they moved to Canada.
“It’s my fourth time starting my life from scratch,” Zabihullah told CTVNews.ca. “I hope this time it will be permanent.”
Zabihullah was 16 years old when he left Afghanistan for Ukraine in 2000 after the Taliban, during their first regime, killed his aunt and forced other family members to leave their homes.
“The situation was really bad. My father asked me to leave the country otherwise I wouldn’t survive,” added Zabihullah.
In 2014, when the situation got worse in Ukraine over the protests to suspend the signing of an association agreement with the European Union, Zabihullah left his home and belongings in Ukraine and went back to Afghanistan.
Years later in 2021, when the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan, Zabihullah—who was now a father—had to flee once again, leaving everything behind.
“When the war intensified in Kabul, I decided to leave the country and go back to Ukraine. Because I now had bigger responsibilities: my wife and my son,” Zabihullah recalled.
The 39-year-old Afghan, who also holds a Ukrainian passport, had to leave Ukraine after Russia’s invasion more than a year ago. But this time compared with 2014, the situation in Ukraine was much more dire.
“It was an early morning in Kyiv when the war started. My wife woke me up and said that she had seen rockets had landed close to their home,” recalled Zabihullah. “I did not believe it at first, but minutes later I saw the rockets with my own eyes.”
A long, bitter pause engulfed the house after Zabihullah and his family realized war has been following them wherever they go.
After calling some of his friends, the Afghan-Ukrainian man decided to leave the house in order to save everybody’s lives.
“I ran from one war to save my family, but now have to run again,” said Zabihullah.
Since the war erupted in Ukraine last February, over 13 million people have been displaced inside and outside of Ukraine. Of this number, over 197,000 people came to Canada.
“On the way leaving Kyiv, the armoured vehicles and tanks were going to Kyiv and I saw several rockets hit the tanks. Thousands of people were on the streets, and everyone was leaving.”
Together with his wife and four-year-old son, Zabihullah had to walk vast distances to cross the border into Poland. However, when trying to cross into the country, Zabihullah had to separate himself from his wife and son.
After weeks in Poland, Zabihullah learned that his wife and son made it to Australia. Soon, he started contacting refugee volunteers to reunite him with his family.
It was a cold, rainy day when Zabihullah reunited with his wife and son in Frankfurt, Germany. After nine months in the country, they came to Canada.
Finally, Zabihullah and his family found a place to call home.
Although he says he is happy and at peace in Regina, he is worried about their future as they’re here with a temporary work visa.
“I request the Canadian government to help me and grant me permanent residence. No energy left to go to another country and start again,” Zabihullah said.
Reporting for this story was paid for through The Afghan Journalists in Residence Project funded by Meta.
