Evacuated interpreters with family in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan push for visas to be prioritised – ABC News
Efat left Kabul in such a hurry she didn't get a chance to saygoodbye to her parents and siblings.
The Hazara woman, who worked as an interpreter for Australian and US troops,knew a future in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan was not an option for her.
The 28-year-oldspent two weeksin the heat, staking out the crowded gates of Kabul International Airport for anopportunity to flee Afghanistan,afterTaliban insurgents captured the country.
Once she saw a chance to leave, she had to seize the opportunity and didn't have time to go back and farewell her family.
Now livingin Adelaide, Efat, whois not usingher real name because ofconcerns for her family's safety,wants to urgentlybringher family to Australia.
She fears they could becometargets because of their Hazaraethnicity and her work with coalition forces.
"Every dayand every moment I'm thinking 'how should I get them out of that country?'because there is no life forthem [there]," she told the ABC.
"I am all by myself and I have not a single person of my family with me the problem is that I have in my mind that they're in a place that is not safe for them."
In the wake of the US withdrawal in August, Afghans who worked with the coalition forces have been killed.
The Talibanhave also beenevicting Hazara, who are Shia Muslims,from their homes and landwhile Islamic State have begun launching deadly suicide bombings on areas where they live.
Efat said she hadheld off submitting a visa application for her family because she didn't know how many family members she could bring to Australia.
But in response to questions by the ABC, the Department of Home Affairs said there was no limit on the number of close family members a humanitarian visa holder could propose.
Efat said while she was gratefulthe Australian government had helped people like herself evacuate, thegovernment should makethe guidelines around applying for visas for family in Afghanistan clearer.
"It is not only us who matters, it is them too because if they're not safe we're not safe anymore," she said.
"Please bring our families to us, please make us feel like we're going tosee our family members again," she said, holding back tears.
While someformer interpreters for Australian forceshave made it to Australia, others in Afghanistan are still waiting for visas.
The Australiangovernment has opened 3,000 humanitarian visas for Afghans wanting to flee, buta Senate inquiry last week heard none of those humanitarian visas had been issueddespite the government receiving more than 20,000 applications.
Veteran and lawyerGlenn Kolomeitzsaid Australia's humanitarian visa process for Afghans hadbeen "pretty disastrous".
"The Afghans who worked for Australian agencies in Afghanistan, they're entitled to a permanent visa," MrKolomeitz said.
"To date, none of those have been given permanent visas. Many have been given very short-term, temporary safe haven visas."
MrKolomeitz made a submission to a Defence and Foreign Affairs Senate inquiryprobingthe federalgovernment's two-stagevisa application process for former Afghan employees of Australian governmentagencies.
A prominent woman's rights activist and her family share their harrowingcrossing into Pakistan and their safe arrival in Australia.
In his submission, he said some former Afghan interpreters for Australia could not complete the second part of their application because Australia had already closed its embassy in Kabul.
The Department of Foreign Affairs did not respond to the ABC's request for comment.
MrKolomeitz told the ABCthe families of former locally engaged interpreters alsofaced a heightened risk of persecution in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and should be prioritised.
"All of our clients who are here in Australia have family in Afghanistan, that gives them a very strong link to Australia but these people are still not being prioritised," he said.
"What we're seeing is they're simply joining thepile of other applications from every other Afghan who was applyingto come to Australia on humanitarian grounds."
Ahmad,who worked with ADF soldiers in Afghanistan, also hasfamily in the country and fears the Taliban will target them.
The ABC is not using Ahmad's real name to protect his family's identity.
He said he hadcontacted migration lawyers and preparedvisa application formsto try and get his family an Australian visa.
Butwith thousands of other Afghans applying for just a few thousandvisas, he isworried his family will not make the cut.
"I know their families, they want to get their members, their loved ones over here but the amount of risk to the Afghan interpreters' families from [the] Taliban in Afghanistan ismore than any other thing you can think [of]," Ahmad said.
After promisingto honour minority rights, local Taliban leadersevicthundredsof Hazara families, leaving many displaced in rugged mountain areaswith no supplies.
"I've heard rumours and there has been some activitiesby the Taliban, that they are looking for the families of the Afghan interpreters."
He hasjoined calls toprioritise the families of Afghan interpreters for humanitarian visas.
"I[t]will be very good, if they can prioritise the visa for the Afghan interpreters' familiesfirst, especially their parents, because most of these interpreters were living with their parentsin one house," he said.
"If they cannot get out on time, sooner or later the Taliban will come and come after them."
MrKolomeitz said there was still hope for recently evacuated Afghans in Australia wanting to reunite with their families.
"We got a family out in the last week, whose interpreter family live here in Australia [and] are permanent residents," he said.
"But there are still many family members stuck in Afghanistan whowe and others are working on getting visas for and evacuating."
Inresponse to questions from the ABC, the Department of Home Affairs said priority would be given to persecuted minorities, women and children and those who have links to Australia.
For Efat, she just wants to see her parents and siblings again, out of harm's way.
"I have my brothers younger than me and they have not even started their life yet and they're struggling," she said.
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Evacuated interpreters with family in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan push for visas to be prioritised - ABC News
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