'Don't forget about us': A plea from Afghans as New Zealand is consumed by lockdown

Thursday, 19 August 2021

Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint near the US embassy that was previously manned by American troops, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 17.

Fear is rising that while New Zealand fixes its focus on the Delta outbreak and living under lockdown, families stranded in Afghanistan will be forgotten, an advocate says.

Lorna Johnson, a trustee of the Manawatū Reuniting Refugee Trust, is bound to her Palmerston North home under alert level 4 restrictions, reading desperate emails from Afghan Kiwis pleading for any help for their loved ones trapped under Taliban rule.

Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, fell to the Taliban on Sunday in a swift takeover.

A New Zealand Defence Force Hercules set off on Thursday as part of a mercy mission to rescue Kiwis and Afghan allies from Kabul’s airport, but there are many Afghan families in New Zealand desperate to find refuge for loved ones.

* Afghans face 'rule of the gun' under Taliban control, retired major says

Refugee advocate Lorna Johnson fears for the safety of families stuck in Afghanistan. (FIle image)

* Reports of deaths amid chaotic scenes at Kabul airport as people flee the Taliban in Afghanistan

Minutes before the nation went into lockdown, an Afghan refugee studying in New Zealand emailed Johnson pleading for help to save her brother and his wife from the devastation.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the Defence Force will be deployed to help support evacuations of New Zealanders in Afghanistan and Afghan allies.

Since December 2019 the woman had been fighting to bring them to Aotearoa after they were registered successfully under then Family Refugee Support Category.

There was still hope, but only if the Government recognised the need to rescue her family and others like them from Afghanistan, Johnson said.

“This is a life or death situation. It’s only going to get worse. Although these people are entitled to the residents visas, they haven't been issued.

“What we would like is for the Government to issue some direction.”

Palmerston North MP Tangi Utikere says Afghan Kiwis need to keep raising their voices to help their trapped families. (File image)

Johnson said families would go into hiding to escape execution, and the longer the Government waited the harder it would be to find them before the Taliban did.

“If you're the Government you’ve got to have a good reason to make an exception, if that wasn’t the case then it certainly is now.”

She acknowledged the Taliban had made it almost impossible for Afghans to leave the country, but people had been able to escape before and their visas needed to be ready, so they could have safe passage.

“Just because something looks hard doesn't mean it can’t be done.”

Palmerston North MP Tangi Utikere said he had been advocating for the city’s Afghan community to the highest level.

But since Covid-19 caused turmoil throughout the world in 2020, the reunification process to bring their family members into New Zealand has largely been put on hold.

“The images back in Afghanistan are distressing to all of us, especially those who have family connections.

“I get that it’s devastating, I get that it’s difficult, but by the same token at the moment we’re in a unique situation.

“I know there are calls for that processing to recommence, what I would say is the Government are aware.”

Utikere urged people who feared for their family’s safety to contact him or their local MPs, so they could put forward the strongest representation of their concerns to those who could reunite them with loved ones.