This notice concerns Afghan refugee-immigrants only. Over the last few years, St. Faith’s, in partnership with Flourishing Foundation, sponsored six Afghan families who were living in refuge in Pakistan. In October 2024, the Pakistan Government issued a Repatriation Order directing all Afghan citizens to return home. The Pakistan military then began raids looking for Afghans without valid Visas, detaining them in prison, and deporting them to Kabul (Afghanistan) under armed guard. Pakistan will not issue any new Visas to Afghans without proof of medical emergency, which makes it impossible to return the families to Pakistan legally.
Four of our families have been deported; one was captured very early in this process and was able to return to Pakistan after we obtained new Visas, and now with the remaining family lives in constant terror that it is only a matter of time before they are found. These are families with young children, widows, and single-parent families, who have been in hiding for 12 to 36 months, with no access to school, and no safe way to leave their homes to go for walks or play in a park.
Despite Immigration Refugee Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issuing letters to the Pakistan Government requesting exception to the Order for these families and time to complete the immigration process to Canada, the Pakistan Government has ignored all requests. IRCC will not interfere with another country’s deportation policies. Earlier this week a representative from an Anglican church met with a representative from IRCC and we are advised that the waiting time on all refugee-immigrant applications will increase exponentially going forward, and that there is nothing that can be done for the Afghan families.
Transparency is vital when we are a sponsoring church. It is important that we all know as much as possible about the families’ circumstances to best support them. Under the current circumstances, the families who have been deported will not have their files closed, as per typical procedure, but their applications are now on hold.
There are not sufficient words to fully capture the precarity and despair these families are experiencing. We are asking for your collective prayers and will continue to report on their wellbeing.
Without sponsorship, these families have no hope. Please know that despite these horrific circumstances, hope for an end to this nightmare is to what they are clinging.
With gratitude,
Andrea