More than 200 Afghan refugees have resettled in Manitoba so far, data shows

As Canada ramps up efforts to welcome an unlimited number of Ukrainians fleeing the war-torn country, work continues to resettle refugees fleeing a different conflict.

Canada has committed to bringing at least 40,000 Afghan refugees to the country following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan this past August.

So far, nearly a quarter of those refugees have arrived, but some groups want to see more done to speed up the process.

“Their current circumstances are dire as they’re living in very cramped, unheated quarters and barely have enough food to live,” Nazefa Ismail, who’s originally from Afghanistan, told an International Women’s Day breakfast Tuesday in support of Afghans who want to come to Canada.

So far, more than 8,500 Afghan refugees have arrived in Canada.

They include Afghans who assisted the government, privately sponsored refugees and refugees referred by the United States, the human rights group Front Line Defenders and the United Nations Refugee Agency.

According to federal government data 225 of those refugees have made Manitoba their new home. Brandon has so far welcomed 30 government assisted Afghan refugees, while Winnipeg has welcomed 175 and an additional 20 privately sponsored refugees, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

But some would like to see the process speed up.

“We need to step up to the plate, both the government process and the private sponsorship process,” said Arley Loewen, a Blumenort resident who’s lived, worked and taught in Afghanistan and specializes in Persian culture and studies.

He said many Afghans who’ve fled the country are now living elsewhere without official status, struggling to survive.

“They cannot get immigration status in those countries and so they need to be resettled and the governments in the west need to be involved in speeding up this resettlement process,” Loewen said.

With Canada now promising temporary refuge to an unlimited number Ukrainians fleeing the war, Loewen and others worry about the impact on the immigration system’s capacity to resettle Afghan refugees.

Alastair Clarke, a Winnipeg-based immigration lawyer, applauds the government for welcoming people from Ukraine but he’s also urging Ottawa to do more to help Afghans.

“We know of many individuals in Afghanistan who are being persecuted for many reasons and it’s very hard for them to escape,” Clarke said. “The Taliban is the government and it’s very hard for Afghans to leave the country.”

“The situation in Afghanistan is quite different and it has its own challenges.”

The Steinbach-based Evangelical Mennonite Conference recently answered the call. In response to requests from some worshippers to get involved, executive director Tim Dyck said the organization since has asked its more than 60 member churches to privately sponsor 100 Afghan Christian refugee families so they can come to Canada.

“I think it’s the responsibility of the church to step forward and take care of the Christians who are vulnerable so that’s why we think it’s important for us to do this,” said Dyck.

Afghan families in need have already been identified; now it’s just a matter of getting churches to turn their expressions of interest into actual applications, Dyck said.

“It’s a big expense as well,” Dyck said. “It’s about $25,000 to $30,000 for a family, depending on the size. The responsibility is to take care of a family for a period of one year from when they enter Canada.

It’s to meet them at the airport, to find housing for them and facilitate all their needs getting settled into society, getting their kids registered in school, getting doctors visits, helping them to find English language classes, finding jobs for them.”

Ottawa said in an update last Friday it’s working hard to resettle Afghan refugees as quickly and safely and possible.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser recently told CTV Question Period, Canada’s working with partners on the ground to facilitate safe passage for Afghans similar to what it’s doing for Ukrainians.