IT'S an emotional rollercoaster ride, but not as we know it. Many lives have been lost, and many more are at stake.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Newcastle-based Najia Najia cannot not stop crying as she shares an update on the fate of her family who, since the start of August, have been flung from their homes in Afghanistan - some have escaped, some have been murdered, and some are still missing.
On Monday morning she celebrated the escape of 17 family members, including her mother and father and three babies, who had been waiting at Kabul airport for three days. They found an American soldier who got them on a plane. No help had come from Australia, despite the fact her brother was killed while working for the Australian Defence Force as an interpreter.
They landed in Dubai, but the mother of two of the children is still missing in Afghanistan - alive, Najia still hopes. In Dubai, with the help of her lawyer, former army officer Glenn Kolomeitz, Najia hoped her family could be moved from the American processing office near Al Maktoum international airport, to the Australian processing office, just over an hour's drive away. "They were waiting in Dubai for 16 or 17 hours ... no one came, no one helped my family. I don't know what the government is doing, why the Australian Government is not helping my family," she said.
The Australian government has given numerous assurances that interpreters and their families would be protected. But critics say that has not happened as swiftly as it ought to, and that Australia has let down thousands of people left behind.
Little more than a week ago, on August 15, Najia's uncle and his entire family were killed. "They had already called to Home Affairs to say they were receiving calls from unknown numbers and ... the Taliban knew they were in Kabul. They said 'your case is being processed'. So after a few days, (the Taliban) just attacked my uncle's house - they killed my whole uncle's family."
The neighbours sent pictures to Najia's father of the incident, so her father abandoned the family home and headed straight for Kabul airport. From Dubai they have made it to Germany, again with the help of the Americans, Najia said. "I am happy that they are safe in Germany now but I am worried about where they will go. Our family has suffered so much. I am broken."
Mohammad Sami Zakhil, who also worked with the ADF as an interpreter and now lives in Newcastle, said the situation also grows worse for his family, which has been unable to escape. He has footage of the Taliban patrolling the family's house. The Taliban have a list of people who worked with the Australian army, and their families, and they are looking for them - to kill the men, and take the women, he said.
Debbie Carstens, manager of settlement and communities for Northern Settlement Services in Newcastle, said local Afghan families are looking on with horror as the crisis unfolds. "We are urging the Australian government to bring Afghans - who are at grave risk - to Australia, especially those with family connections here and those who supported Australian forces in Afghanistan, including their extended families. We urge the Minister for Immigration to use his discretionary powers to issue emergency visas."
Together with other settlement agencies, NSS is urging the Australian government to:
- Bring those who are at grave risk to Australia NOW
- Commit to a significant humanitarian intake for Afghans - 3,000 places are not enough
- Prioritise urgent family reunion applications
- Extend permanent protection to Afghans in Australia who currently only have temporary protection visas
IN THE NEWS
- Newcastle COVID death as region adds two cases, NSW up 818
- Three Lake Macquarie supermarkets named exposure sites
- Masks mandatory outdoors: what's changed in the new COVID rules
- EDITORIAL: Costco Boolaroo exposure may have high price for Hunter
- Raiders rumoured to be chasing Knights' Mitchell Pearce
- 'In the dark': parents of most vulnerable concerned over vax hub move
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark: newcastleherald.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News