An Ottawa man who served in Afghanistan helping the Canadian Armed Forces during its NATO mission is begging the prime minister and the immigration minister to help save his sister and nephew from the Taliban’s imminent revenge.
“As a Canadian citizen and someone who served this country with pride and dignity, I now find myself feeling ashamed. My service not only brought danger to my family but has also ruined my entire family’s life,” he wrote in letters to Mark Carney and Lena Diab last week.
“During my service, I saved many lives of soldiers in the line of duty. Now, when it comes to my family, I find myself facing a wall of silence. Is this not a slap in the face for my services to Canada?” his letters ask.
His family’s unusual situation stems from his work as an advisor for Canada’s soldiers in Afghanistan, where he was born. He immigrated to Canada in 2005, became a Canadian citizen, and was a university student in Ottawa when recruited by the Department of National Defence.
In 2010, as a Language and Cultural Advisor (LCA), he left Ottawa to join Canada’s soldiers in Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second largest city, where he had top-secret clearance to help in the dangerous mission.
Kandahar is the political base and stronghold of the Taliban, and when locals discovered his identity, his sister and her family still living in Afghanistan were targeted with threats and warnings, he said.
“In their eyes we were helping the infidels,” he said.
His sister’s husband, a police officer, was shot dead in 2013 and she was told “this is the consequence you face.” After continued threats and fears for her children as they became adults, they fled Afghanistan in 2018, he said. They sought refugee status in Turkey.
(The man’s identity was protected by Canada’s Federal Court in a recent proceeding about his case because of danger to his relatives for his work with the military. He asked that his name not be published for fear it would cause further harm to his family abroad.)
Ever since his family left Afghanistan, he has worked to get them to safety in Canada, without success.
After the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Canada announced a special immigration policy to help LCAs bring family here. It was limited to family still in Afghanistan around the time when Kabul fell to the Taliban, meaning his sister was ineligible because she left before that.
He fears it will soon be too late.
His sister and one of her adult sons have now been ordered deported back to Afghanistan from Turkey where they sought asylum. National Post has seen a copy of her deportation order. The family believes they will be targeted and punished by the Taliban if they are returned. The Taliban remains listed as a terrorist group by the Canadian government.
“My sister who lost her husband because of my service to Canada is now likely going to lose her life because of my service, and this country will not do anything,” he said in an interview.
He has been writing to officials in Ottawa for years trying to solve the problem. After seeing how imminent her deportation could be, he tried another plea to Carney and other government officials.
“How can you reconcile the sacrifices I made in service to Canada with the current neglect my family is experiencing?” he asked in his letter emailed Thursday, and read by the Post. “Why are the lives of my family members, who are at risk due to my service, not being prioritized?”
On Monday, he received a reply from the Prime Minister’s Office.
“While I am sympathetic to the circumstances you describe, Prime Minister Carney is unable to personally intervene or provide you with direct assistance in this matter,” said the PMO’s executive correspondence officer. “While the Prime Minister appreciates the time you have taken to share your concerns, he will leave your comments to be considered by the Minister (of Immigration).”
The former LCA said it is frustrating. He has asked Diab, the minister, and her predecessors for help and said he has made no progress.
He immediately wrote back to the PMO: “I kindly urge the Prime Minister to look into this situation, as it has reached a critical juncture, and it is essential that we act swiftly to prevent irreversible consequences. I appeal to the government to fulfill its moral and ethical responsibility in this case.”
National Post sent requests last week for comment from Diab and from David McGuinty, minister of defence. Neither minister responded.
A spokesman for the ministry of immigration said they declined to comment on this specific case, citing privacy legislation.
“Canada is concerned with the deportation of Afghan refugees and the situation they may face upon return to Afghanistan, and continues to engage with partners in the region,” the statement said.
Canada has helped resettle 59,000 Afghans since the fall of Kabul in August 2021, the ministry said, although intake for its special Afghan programs is now closed.
Meanwhile, the former LCA said Canada is sending a terrible message to those who might be called on in the future to use their language skills and local knowledge to help Canada abroad, wherever the next global crisis unfolds.
• Email: ahumphreys@postmedia.com | X: AD_Humphreys
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