Canada's doors still closed to Afghan interpreters US and Australia have welcomed their translators, but Canada's are left biding their time, and fearing Taliban violence. By Jeff Davis Published December 9, 2009    1 Comment

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Some eight months after Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced Canada was proud to offer sanctuary to Afghan interpreters facing Taliban threats, none have been permitted to enter Canada.

Meanwhile, one of Canada's former Kabul-based interpreters is becoming increasingly desperate as the Taliban literally raps on his family's door. There may be little hope for this man, however, as the program is open only to translators working in Kandahar province.

The Afghan interpreters immigration program, intended to save Canadian-employed translators from Taliban aggression, was originally announced in April by Mr. Kenney.

"In particular circumstances where we feel that a person's safety will be jeopardized by staying in the country, the door will be open to Canada," Mr. Kenney told the Canadian Press. "I think Canadians would be proud to help provide refuge to those who have helped our forces, aid personnel and diplomats.'"

The reality, however, differs markedly from the rhetoric.

On Monday, Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokeswoman Kelli Fraser said no Afghan interpreters have come to Canada through the program.

Ms. Fraser said the government has contracted the International Organization for Migration to administer the program because Citizenship and Immigration Canada does not have any staff in Kandahar. She said the IOM has not submitted any applications for processing, despite receiving calls from over 30 former or current locally-engaged Afghan staff.

Ms. Fraser blamed the delays on the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, pointing to the Taliban's October assault on a UN guesthouse in Kabul.

She said the IOM has begun arranging to meet with Afghans to help them submit applications, and CIC expects to begin receiving applications "in the next few weeks." But it will take an additional six to 12 months, or longer, to process the applications and bring interpreters to Canada.

To qualify for the program, interpreters must be recommended by a committee of senior Canadian civilian and military officials in Afghanistan. Applicants must be Afghan citizens, a spouse or child of a killed or injured interpreter, or "face extraordinary and individualized risk as a result of employment or a contract in direct support of the Canadian government in Kandahar." Special consideration will be given to those who suffered injuries as a result of working for Canada, and applicants may apply under this program until the end of the Canadian combat mission in Kandahar in 2011.

'They will kill me'

While Canada's Kandahar-based translators will qualify for this special program, those working in Kabul are not so lucky.

In late November, Embassy received an email from an Afghan translator who worked with Canadian officials for three years at Canada's Kabul Military Training Centre. He later worked for a further year and nine months with American forces in Kandahar.

In addition to photographs of himself working in the field alongside Canadian soldiers, this translator sent a number of dated certificates of appreciation and letters of recommendation signed by Canadian Forces officials. One, signed by a Canadian Forces captain, commended him for his "outstanding dedication."

In a Tuesday telephone interview, he said he quit working as a translator six months ago in the face of Taliban threats. Embassy has not named him for safety reasons.

"I quit because my parents told me: 'Some people came to our door...and they are looking for you,'" he said. "They said: 'You have to quit, otherwise they will kill you."

Realizing his life was in very real danger, he visited the Canadian Embassy in Kabul in September and identified himself as a former government of Canada employee looking to immigrate to Canada to escape Taliban aggression.

Canadian Embassy staff told him he does not qualify for the special program because he had not worked for Canada for a cumulative 12 months in Kandahar province. They told him to apply to migrate to Canada through the standard process, and directed him to the Canadian High Commission in Islamabad.

At the High Commission in Islamabad, 50 per cent of applications are processed within 29 months.

The translator expressed frustration that he and other Canadian-employed translators have been unable to migrate, whereas those working for other ISAF nations have been able to.

"The interpreters that worked with the US Army for two years, they are gone to America," he said. "But I worked for Canadians for three years and I don't know how I can I come to Canada.

"I am not safe in Afghanistan believe me, sir," he continued. "Some big [Taliban] fellow, he knows I was an interpreter, they know me, and if they find me they will kill me."

Not 'rocket science'

Janet Dench, the executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, was unsurprised the program has not yet brought any interpreters to safety in Canada. She said it was clear from the beginning, when the program was announced, that much work still had to be done.

"We had previously sought clarification about how this program for Afghan interpreters would work, and at that time when it was first announced it was clear the details were far from being worked out," she said. "Until it is worked out, questions remain about how accessible it is actually going to be for Afghans that may be at risk."

She said, further, that whether or not translators qualify should be based not solely on geographical location, but rather on the degree of danger they face.

"If there is evidence that [translators] are under threat because of their work with the Canadian government in Kabul or any other part of Afghanistan, it would be strange to say that they should not be considered," she said.

NDP Immigration critic Olivia Chow said Canada should follow the lead of the Americans and Australians, who have put in place quick and simple migration programs to help their endangered translators and their families. Doing so, she said, "is not rocket science."

She pointed out that Mr. Kenney has announced this program twice—once in April and again in October—and accused him of focusing more on drafting press releases than effective policy.

"It's called political announcements trumping reality on the ground, and people's lives," she said. "These people give their lives to Canada, it's the least we can do to show our gratitude."

jdavis@embassymag.ca