After the Canadian government announced Thursday morning that their evacuation efforts in Afghanistan had ended, some Saskatchewan residents are still holding out hope their family and friends are safe, whether they make it out of the county or not.
Officials provided an official update at 6 a.m. CST and said Canadian personnel left Kabul earlier in the morning.
The situation is all too real for Nadia Akbar Kamal, who lives in Regina. She left Afghanistan with her family in 1996 when she was just eight years old, after bombings started taking place near their home.
Observing the chaos in Kabul from a far, Kamal has gone through a mix of emotions.
“I think I speak for all the Afghans that are living away from the country that we all are angry — we’re angry at the situation, we’re angry at the war that’s been happening for the 30-plus years with no resolution,” Kamal told Global News.
“The general feeling would be fear — fear for our people.”
Kamal said it’s her younger female relatives she fears for the most.
“I hate to say this, but the children that are girls, we are worried for them, for their safety,” said Kamal, not knowing if the young girls would be able to return to school.
Though she says her extended family and friend living in the war-torn country are safe, she does have concerns for what may come next.
“We don’t know what’s the better solution, for the people to leave Afghanistan or just stay and see if things will change,” Kamal said.
Kevin Weedmark also understands the struggle of trying to help from a distance.
Weedmark worked in Afghanistan in 2004 as a journalist and had an Afghan interpreter who he would sometimes spend more than 12 hours a day with.
He’s in constant communication with his friend and working with the government officials to get him and his family out of the country.
He said the interpreter did make it to the Kabul airport but was not able to get on the last plane out.
“He, like many others now, is at home, is in hiding, not trying to be in public any more than he needs to be because he has a target on his back and now coming up with the next plan,” Weedmark said.
Weedmark’s friend and family, including seven-month-old twins, have been cleared to come to Canada with a letter of admittance.
The friend is hoping he can get to another country and then travel to Canada from there.
“For those on the ground there, it’s been an emotional rollercoaster – and for people over here trying to help them as well,” Weedmark said, adding that there have been various attempts to help get those who helped Canadians during the war out.
Weedmark says he is trying to stay hopeful though it’s frustrating not being able to be on ground to help.
Canadian government officials previously committed to take in 20,000 refugees.
If and when refugees come to Regina, Kamal pleaded with local residents to be welcoming.
“Let them know that they have a space here, give them room to breathe because nobody likes to leave their home behind, leave all their belongings in the sense of comfort, and come to a completely foreign country with a new language and new expectations,” Kamal said.
She also asks residents to pray for Afghanistan, and to reach out to Afghans to see if they are OK.
“It’s not an easy time and we’re all trying to hold it together, but we might seem like we’re OK, but we’re not,” Kamal said.
–With files from Montana Getty, Aaron D’Andrea and The Associated Press