Canada-bound Afghan family caught in Ukraine-Russia standoff: ‘There is no hope left’
Global News
Amid fears a war will break out between Ukraine and Russia, Jawed Ahmad Haqmal fears his family will be left behind as non-essential Canadian diplomats begin to leave Kyiv.
Standing outside the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, Jawed Ahmad Haqmal wonders if he and his family will ever make it to their new home.
Since late August 2021, the former Afghan interpreter for the Canadian Armed Forces and his 11 relatives, including five children, have been living in a hotel while immigration officials process their paperwork.
After leaving war-torn Afghanistan, the thought of war looms over their heads again – this time between their temporary home and neighbouring Russia.
Caught in the middle once more, Haqmal fears they will be left behind as non-essential Canadian diplomats begin to leave Ukraine in anticipation of an armed conflict.
“I escaped from one war from Afghanistan and a very difficult situation, and now I’m involved in another war,” he told Global News.
“What will I do if this happens? Where shall I take my wife? Where shall I take my mother, my sisters, my kids in this worst situation, and this cold weather with no support, with no money, with no winter clothing? It is unimaginable and there is no answer for that with me.”
Last summer, Haqmal and his family were part of a large group that was evacuated by Ukrainian soldiers after the Taliban recaptured the nation plagued by war for decades.
They were helped by the Globe and Mail, whose reporter Mark MacKinnon assisted the family’s dramatic escape hours after two deadly suicide attacks outside Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport.