Afghan who served Canadian military pleads with Ottawa to save his family from the Taliban

Ramin Sultani didn'ttake the death threats seriously at first the phone calls to his home demanding informationabout his former roleas an interpreter for the Canadian military.

In 2011, aged 23, he was back home in his village near the city ofGhazniandenjoying being close to his family again. It had been years since Sultani had been out on foot patrols with Canadian Armed Forces personnel in Kandahar, a province in Afghanistan's south.

One day, a local shopkeeper told him that men with guns had come to the store looking for him.

Sultani knew exactly who they were the Taliban, looking to exact revenge on anyone who had helpedwestern forces.The shopkeeper said he told the armed men there were too many people named Ramin in the neighbourhoodand he couldn't help them.

Sultani immediately told his father.

"My father got silent for a moment. Then he said, 'You're leaving tonight, Ramin,'" Sultanitold CBCNews at his home inScarborough, Ont.

"My father knew these people, [that] they're very dangerous, they could harm me."

His journey took him to Kabul and,eventually, Toronto.

Sultani couldn't take his family with him. He came to Canada througha specialprogram Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) offered at the time only to interpretersnot to their families.

"[The immigration official]said, 'Only you or, if you're married, your wife,'" saidSultani, who has four brothers and two sisters."I don't have a wife, but I have my siblings, my parents. He said,'No, you cannot bring your family.'"

Now, there's a special immigration measure in place for families of those who served the Canadian military as interpreters but because of hisformer job, most of Sultani's relations are now in hiding in Kabul andcan't get out.

"Honestly, I feel mistreated right now. Because what we did, nobody else could do over there," he said.

"In terms of government, I feel we were left behind over there, our families were left behind over there. We risk our life helping the Canadian Forces, and look what they're doing right now."

Burning family photos to survive

In Kabul, Sultani'sfamilystruggles to stay off the Taliban's radar.

Sultani's brother spoke to CBC from the Afghan capital, where Taliban are on the hunt for those who worked for Western governments, along withtheir families. CBCis not naming Sultani's brother out of concern for his safety.

The brother describes August 15, 2021 the day the Taliban entered Kabul as the worst day of his life. Some people in the capital got calls from foreign governmentsoffering to evacuate them, he said, but his own phone stayed silent.

"Everyone was worried about their future. Everyone was worried about their life," Sultani's brother said.

The situation hasn't improved since, he added.

"No one is comfortable with [the Taliban], and no one is getting used to this situation."

For more than six months, Sultani's brother, motherand nephews have been changing their locationevery week or two. They've been able to evade the Taliban by staying with relatives and friends, but Sultani's brother worries about the toll it's taking on hisfamily and himself.

All of them are having trouble sleeping, hesaid, and his nephews aren't able to go to school. Before he fled his own residence, he was forced to burn everything connecting him with his brother service certificates,his brother'sCanadian Armed Forces uniform, precious family photos.

"Burning my own brother's photo is like the worst feeling," he said.

Sultani's brother said heheard from a relative in mid-Marchthat the Taliban had searchedhis former home. He said his family can feel the Taliban dragnet tightening around them; security checkpoints are plentiful in and around Kabul. Meanwhile,he said, safely acquiring travel documents to fleeto a neighbouring country like Pakistan or Tajikistanis impossible.

He said hisfamily's only hope for salvation is evacuation bythe Canadian government.

"Secure my life and just take us out of this," he said.

"I want each and every member of my family to have a good sleep, to have a normal life, like how a human being needs to have a normal life."

Back in Canada, Sultanisaid he wonderswhy Ottawahasn't done moreto get families like his out of Afghanistan. He said hethinks the Canadian public has taken note of what he views as a weakgovernment response to the problem.

"It's just excuses that they're making," he said. "Stop the politics. People already know what's going on here. Stop fooling people."

The government says that, so far,it's brought11,165Afghans to Canadathrough two programsa special immigration program for Afghans who assisted the government of Canadaand a humanitarian program. That figure is far short of its target of 40,000 Afghan migrants.

Government officials, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have said repeatedly that evacuating vulnerable people from Afghanistan is exceedingly difficult. They've blamedthe Taliban for the slow pace of the evacuation.

Ottawa called on to negotiate with the Taliban

Sultanisaid the government should try new approaches. He said Ottawa could attemptto leverage the Taliban's good relationship with Qatar to get Afghans on flights to Doha, the Qatari capital.

The federal government, he said,could also negotiate travel documents to permit some Afghans to enter Pakistan,where they could make arrangements to travel on tocountries like Canada.

Some Afghans have come to Canada from neighbouring third countrieslike Pakistan but manytook risks to get tothose third countriesby smuggling themselves across theborder.

Engaging in theseapproacheslikely would mean bargaining with the Taliban, Sultanisaid.

Nipa Banerjee, a former Canadian diplomat who served in Afghanistan, has written reference letters for a number of Afghan interpreters who worked for the Canadian government. She saidshe's not impressed with the government's recent efforts on the file.

"I really feel very bad. I feel very embarrassed that the Canadian government is not willing to assist them anymore," she said.

Banerjee, now a professional in residence at the University of Ottawa's School of International Development, said the threat facingfamilies trying to flee Afghanistan is dire enough tojustify government-to-governmentnegotiationswith the Taliban.

Banerjeesaid that whileshe's not in favour of formallyrecognizing the Taliban government in Afghanistan,it's worth the effort to talk to them.

"If an effort was made by the Canadian government, they could get certain things," she said.

Banerjee said theCanadian government could offer the Taliban conditional aid or aneasing of economicsanctionsin exchange for lettingcertain Afghans leave the country.

Beyond that, she said,the government also needs to be more open about its efforts on the issue.

"Our government is not being very transparent," she said. "They're keeping public policies private."

CBC News has asked forinterviews with Global Affairs Minister Mlanie JolyandCanada's Special Envoy to AfghanistanDavid Sproule. The government has made neither official available.

Ottawa sets conditions for engaging with Taliban

In a statement, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada said the government is working on the issue.

"Canada continues to have discussions with allies and countries in the region to explore avenues to assist those who remain on the ground, as well as those who have already travelled to third countries and wish to come to Canada," the statement reads.

WATCH | Canada urged to do more to bring relatives of Afghan interpreters to Canada:

Canadian government urged to rescue Afghan refugees

2 years ago

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Federal officials are facing pressure to find alternate ways to relocate family members of former Afghan interpreters who have waited months for help. Ottawa says it cannot land planes in Afghanistan them because theres no diplomatic relationship with the Taliban.

It added that the government has no intentions of recognizing the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan.

"David Sproule, Canada's senior official for Afghanistan, is currently in Doha coordinating with allies on a joint international response to the crisis in Afghanistan," the statement says.

"Mr. Sproule has conveyed Canada's conditions for official engagement with the Taliban regime."

The statement says thoseconditions include "safe passage for Canadian citizens and Afghan nationals departing Afghanistan for return to or settlement in Canada" and "full and free access for delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people as Afghanistan faces an impending humanitarian crisis."

Sultanisaid he has no regrets about serving Canada as an interpreter but his family's experiencehas shaken his faith in parts of the Canadian government.

"We don't trust IRCC. We don't trust them anymore," he said.