Edmonton women scramble to rescue brother hiding in Afghanistan
'The situation is very desperate. We don’t know what to do'
Edmonton sisters Maska, right, and Malali, left via Google Meet, speak out about their family members who are in danger in Afghanistan on Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021. (Jamie McCannel/CBC)
Two Edmonton sisters have been unable to sleep or eat as they hope their family will be selected through an Afghan resettlement program announced by the federal government last week.
CBC News has agreed to only identify them by their first names for their family’s safety and security.
Malali and Maska say their brother used to work for NATO and the U.S. Army, which now has put him and the rest of the family in danger.
According to Malali, they have been in hiding for about two weeks.
“The whole family — my brother and my mom and my two sisters and the four brothers — they all live in the same house. And all of their lives are in danger because of that brother that worked with the U.S. Army,” she said.
“The 20,000 Afghan refugees that they announced they would bring, I want my family to be a part of that 20,000.”
Edmonton woman Malali became emotional while talking about the danger her family is currently facing in Afghanistan. (Jamie McCannel/CBC)
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan last week as the United States and its allies withdrew troops after a 20-year war.
The sisters have reached out to both the Canadian and American governments for help, they said Sunday. They haven’t received any response.
The women say they feel helpless being so far away, knowing how much their family in Afghanistan is struggling and knowing that supplies are running low — for their family and in the country in general.
“He risked his life for seven years for those people and they left him behind,” Malali said. “With no help and nothing. He is very desperate. The situation is very desperate. We don’t know what to do.”
Federal ministers gave an update Sunday on the situation in Afghanistan.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau said the government understands just how desperate Afghans are to flee the country and Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino promised to fast track the relocations.
The Canadian military has airlifted about 1,100 people — mostly Afghans — out of the country, Mendicino said. So far, 12 flights have left the country.
