Arrival in Canada the end of a long journey, the start of a new life

February 7, 2022, 3:34 pm
Kevin Weedmark

I put my life in the hands of Qasem Sediqi when I reported from Afghanistan on a Canadian International Development Agency project, and you can’t image my sigh of relief when he and his family touched down in Vancouver Thursday, reaching Canadian soil after a long and harrowing escape from Afghanistan.

The family has been accepted to come to Canada under the Special Measures for Afghan Interpreters and their families but, as for many, it was a struggle to get out of the country.

It was last July when Qasem contacted me to tell me that, with the Taliban rapidly retaking the country, his life was in danger.

I had spent some time in Afghanistan back when there were Canadian troops at Camp Julien in Kabul and Canadian aid agencies were starting the work of rebuilding an entire society after the last time the Taliban were in control.

The Canadian Program Support Unit in Kabul had found Qasem to act as a driver/interpreter for me. He was there every day as I made my way around Kabul and the surrounding countryside.

I put my life in Qasem’s hands. Afghanistan was a dangerous place when the combined militaries of several western countries were enforcing the peace. Imagine what it is like now, as the Taliban have retaken control, reprisal killings are commonplace, people have been forced from their homes and summarily executed by Taliban militants, and the economy and systems like health care have collapsed.

When I was contacted in July by Qasem, saying his life was in danger, I knew I had to do everything I could to help.

The Canadian government set up a special program for immigration of Afghan interpreters and their families. He applied, and I was contacted immediately by the Strategic Joint Staff of the Canadian military to vouch for him and provide any documentation I had. All sorts of people helped with getting that documentation together. Tina Ongkeko at News Media Canada dug up documentation on the original contract with the Canadian International Development Agency that sent me to Kabul. I was able to supply documentation, articles, and a photo I had taken of Qasem from my time in Afghanistan.

Man standing in a crowd of people and vehicles.

Chaos as a crowd gathers at the Panjshir Pumping Station, where Canadian interpreters and their familiies were told to gather for an attempt to get them to the Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul to be evacuated to Canada. The attempt had to be abandoned after a large crowd gathered, desperate to escape Aftghanistan and shots were fired.

The military unit in charge of vetting moved quickly. After reviewing the documentation, then speaking with me, they approved his application within minutes, but the Canadian flights didn’t get into Kabul when originally planned, Kabul fell to the Taliban, and the task of getting to the airport became very complicated.

Groups of people gathered on the ground outside of airport.

Massive crowds gathered outside the walls of Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul to try to get to safety after the Taliban took Kabul

Lots of people tried their best. One very senior government official was on the phone with me at 2 am our time, 4 am Ottawa time, as a planned evacuation went sideways. Interpreters were to meet at a specific site, a vehicle was to come from the airport and get them safely to the airport, but when people saw a few people gathering, more started gathering thinking it might be a way to get out, and I was in the position of trying to give advice from thousands of miles away as I was told there was now gunfire at the meeting site and Qasem needed to know if he should stay or go.

There were many more struggles between that time and now.

Travel out of the country is dangerous, but Qasem made it out to Pakistan overland, a very dangerous route, in the fall, and his family were able to fly to meet him there in December.

The Sediqi family were safely reunited in Islamabad in September.

The Sediqi family were safely reunited in Islamabad in December.

There have been many struggles and hardships for them as they tried to get out of the country safely.

I tried to do what I could at this end. I’m sure I have the contact information for every Canadian government official in Islamabad, the middle east, and a few in Ottawa.

Every time there was a snag or delay in the family’s progress getting the documentation they needed, another email went out and things seemed to move along.

A lot of people have been asking about their progress and asking how they can help, and many at various levels in government have done what they can to move things along.

I am so happy to be able to tell them that Qasem and his family are now in Canada, having arrived in Vancouver Thursday, and the twin babies celebrated their first birthday in Canada Saturday.

If you have never been to somewhere like Afghanistan you might not realize how lucky you are to live in Canada, where you can walk down the street, go to the park, drive to the city, attend an event, without wondering if the person walking toward you has something strapped to his chest or a blade hidden. Where you are free to be who you want, do what you want, go where you want.

You live in one of the safest, most free, most prosperous countries in the world.

Many, many people around the world are willing to risk their lives in order to enjoy what we all enjoy as Canadian citizens.

I am so proud Qasem and his family, after a months-long struggle for freedom, are now safely in Canada, ready to start a new life, full of new possibilities.

The Sediqi family en route from Islamabad to Vancouver. The twins turned one on Saturday.

The Sediqi family en route from Islamabad to Vancouver.

For everyone who has helped in any way along the way, thank-you.

Kevin Weedmark took this photo in Aftghanistan while on a CIDA project. It shows soldiers on patrol in a village outside Kabul.

Kevin Weedmark took this photo in Afghanistan while on a CIDA project. It shows soldiers on patrol in a village outside Kabul.

Kevin Weedmark took this photo in Aftghanistan while on a CIDA project. It shows active demining efforts in a minefield in the mountains above Kabul.

Kevin Weedmark took this photo in Afghanistan while on a CIDA project. It shows active demining efforts in a minefield in the mountains above Kabul.

Kevin Weedmark took this photo in Aftghanistan while on a CIDA project. It shows a village leader at a distribution centre where food was being distributed to needy families.

Kevin Weedmark took this photo in Afghanistan while on a CIDA project. It shows a village leader at a distribution centre where food was being distributed to needy families.

Kevin Weedmark took this photo in Aftghanistan while on a CIDA project. It shows soldiers on patrol in a rural area of Afghtanistan in a Coyote Light Armoured Vehicle.

Kevin Weedmark took this photo in Afghanistan while on a CIDA project. It shows soldiers on patrol in a rural area of Afghtanistan in a Coyote Light Armoured Vehicle.

Kevin Weedmark took this photo in Aftghanistan while on a CIDA project. It shows volunteers distributing Canadian wheat, cooking oil, lentils, and iodized salt — food intended to keep a family alive for a month.

Kevin Weedmark took this photo in Afghanistan while on a CIDA project. It shows volunteers distributing Canadian wheat, cooking oil, lentils, and iodized salt — food intended to keep a family alive for a month.