333 Afghan refugees arrive in Calgary, 1,800 more expected by June
Global News
A flight carrying 333 Afghan refugees landed in Calgary on Thursday. As Michael King reports, those who escaped Afghanistan will now look to rebuild their lives in Calgary.
As part of Canada’s promise to help 40,000 Afghan refugees, another charter flight landed in Calgary on Thursday.
333 people who escaped Afghanistan as the Taliban took over were greeted at the Calgary International Airport around noon.
Among those was Sughra Saadat, a human-rights advocate, and spokesperson for the Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan.
She said that while she’s grateful to be here in Canada, she’s still concerned for those still in Afghanistan.
One of those challenges is finding a place to stay in Calgary as she works on getting paperwork and finances set up.
The Calgary Catholic Immigration Society helps with initial housing and has been getting support from short-term rental company AirBnb.
Recently, AirBnb announced that it had reached its goal of providing 20,000 Afghan refugees worldwide with free, temporary housing.
Around 160 of those families are here in Canada with the most popular cities being Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Lethbridge.