The government’s response has been vague and unclear, says Devon Matthews, director of programs at Rainbow Railroad.
An organization advocating for LGBTQI+ refugees says a formal partnership with the Canadian government would immediately help evacuate 300 Afghan refugees who are “flight-ready” but “stuck” in neighbouring countries.
“We really just need the pathway and the mechanism and the commitment from the Canadian government to allow them entry into Canada and provide them with resettlement options once they’re here,” she says. “The absence of stable conditions and ever-changing circumstances around exit documentation requirements impacts our ability to move people quickly,” Strickland continued
At ‘triple-risk’ To date, Rainbow Railroad has helped evacuate more than 250 LGBTQI+ Afghans, though Matthews says as of Sept. 15, 5,547 have contacted them asking for assistance. Abuse can take the form of not being given fair treatment by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees ; or even being blocked from accessing safe housing or encampment options, Matthews explains.
Even before the Taliban, LGBTQI+ Afghans were often ostracized by their families and community. Over the last year, says Matthews, there’s been “a real escalation in threats, public outings, and violence, even at the community level.” “In 2021, the partnership was expanded once more in response to the Afghanistan crisis, providing for an additional 150 spaces for Afghan 2SLGBTQI+ refugees between 2022 and 2024,” Strickland wrote.
Additionally, the focus on privately-sponsored refugees leaves the burden of their resettlement largely on settlement organizations. That can cost between $20,000-$25,000 per refugee, Matthews explains – “and that’s only when they’re in Canada – let alone overseas costs.”