The humanitarian tragedy of the Ukrainian refugees – their needs so desperate and immediate – has burst upon the Canadian consciousness, unfortunately, before another humanitarian refugee tragedy has been resolved.
In August, the Taliban overran Afghanistan in 10 lightning-fast days, sending those who opposed them fleeing for their lives. Some were able to leave the country, but others had to go underground and hide in order to stay alive until they could get out.
The danger is real, Cobourg resident Eva Harris said in a recent interview.
History truly does repeat itself, and the Taliban could be reading right out of the Nazi playbook for dealing with Jewish citizens – the door-to-door searches, the executions, the terror.
The fear is real, too, for Jam and Shukria Popal, owners of The Shawarma House and Pizza restaurant in downtown Cobourg. Last fall, some of their family members managed to escape Afghanistan to avoid the danger some of them would have faced as Allied supporters in the 20-year war and as women's-rights advocates.
They are in hiding, keeping a low profile, waiting for the United Nations Human Rights Council to confirm and issue refugee certificates. Meanwhile, the Popals are covering the basic costs of rent and food for three family groups.
Not only are they pouring everything they can into helping their family, Harris reported – Jam has taken a second job to do even more.
“They are so burned out,” she said.
“Anybody, really, who is against the Taliban is in danger, but three of the women are women's-rights defenders in Afghanistan, so they are in danger just for supporting women.
“Our goal right now is to support them financially while they are waiting for sponsorship to get to Canada, but this is proving to be a very long process – almost impossible.”
Harris is one of a small group of local residents who held a candlelight vigil for the Afghan refugees back in August, which members of Cobourg council attended. They have been working with Mayor John Henderson and the Cobourg Rotary Club to help determine what avenues might be most fruitful. And they are very grateful for the efforts of Northumberland-Peterborough South MP Philip Lawrence, who spoke on their behalf with Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino and subsequently with his successor Sean Fraser
“He's trying to be hopeful, but trying to keep it realistic for us,” Harris said.
“Even before the Taliban took over, there were people on the waiting list to emigrate. Trudeau did offer to bring 40,000 Afghans over, but that has not happened.
“There are so many logistics. Nobody really even knows how to get to the right people to fill in an application for a visa. Right now, they are trying to get UN members – you need a UN member to apply for a visa, and you need a visa to apply for immigration.”
Meanwhile, for as long as the process takes, the Popal family will be supporting their family members in hiding – not only pouring everything they can into the effort, but gratefully accepting donations.
An account has been set up at the Cobourg TD Bank – account number 22722 004 6481024, if you can help – in both Harris's name and Shukria's.
“If and when those funds come in from donations, she goes to Western Union and sends that money through little corner stores, because they don't have passports so they can't go to a bank. They had to burn their ID, they had to get rid of everything,” Harris said.
The Popals have been members of the community for many years now. Harris has known them for maybe 16 years herself. And she counts herself just one of their many friends, “all the people who know them, who care for them, who love them, who appreciate them, who want to help them.”
The family (both in Cobourg and in hiding) is blessed with a strong faith to sustain them. And Harris is calling on members of the community who want to help to drop in at The Shawarma House and Pizza at 144 King St. W., donate at the TD Bank, or send an e-mail transfer to evahall59@gmail.com.
“It seems like Afghanistan has been dropped altogether, with what's going on in Ukraine, and we can't forget about those people,” she said.
