Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak on the continued suffering of Afghans since the Taliban took over. I have spoken numerous times in the past about the erasure of women from society, the gnawing hunger taking innocent lives and the complete disregard for basic human rights.

I have also shared with you my memories of Afghanistan, a beautiful country filled with music, art and laughter. Kabul was once our favourite holiday destination.

Recently, when we thought things could not get any worse, we heard of babies dying from preventable diseases across the country. According to UNICEF, at least 167 Afghan babies die on a daily basis from illnesses that could be and should be cured with the right medication. Afghan hospitals are understaffed and overrun, with rooms filled with sick children, often two to a bed, and only two nurses to care for 60 children.

Colleagues, we are witnessing the complete collapse of Afghanistan’s health care, which has relied on foreign funds and is facing dwindling funds since the Taliban banned women from working in NGOs. Health care workers must use what they have on hand, which is very little. Nurses are often working 24-hour shifts and cannot attend to sick babies in critical condition. Some children are dying from a simple lack of oxygen, since the hospital only has power at night and doesn’t have enough supplies of raw materials to produce oxygen on-site.

Some cannot make it to the hospital in time because of the road conditions. Others cannot make the journey. In some cases, parents prefer to take their dying children home as the hospital cannot help them. They prefer to die with their loved ones.

Families are struggling to eat, and one father, watching his daughter struggle to breathe, explained that he cannot even afford to buy a single cup of tea. If it weren’t for a lack of funds, his child would not have had to suffer that way.

Honourable senators, Afghan hospitals are no longer places of care and healing. They are now a place to die. Thank you.

Senator Ataullahjan: Government leader, Mr. Saberi is one of many Afghans. If you remember, I raised the case of Mr. Haqmal, the interpreter who was stuck in Ukraine and who has since moved to Germany. He is still waiting for his papers. These people risked their lives working alongside our soldiers and diplomats. Yet, they have been effectively abandoned by your government and are now being targeted by the Taliban. After the Taliban’s takeover, the Trudeau government promised to rescue 40,000 Afghans to Canada, but IRCC says only 19,395 Afghans have arrived since August 2021.

Why is your government not doing everything in its power to bring these people to safety? Do you not realize that their lives are at stake?

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Last week, The Globe and Mail reported on the case of Mohammad Salim Saberi, a former guard at Canada’s embassy in Kabul who was attacked by the Taliban earlier this month leaving him with a broken thumb. Mr. Saberi believes that they are also tracking and following him. Since then, he has gone into hiding as he waits to be approved for resettlement by IRCC.

It has been more than a year since he first started asking to be rescued. This is not the first Trudeau government failure to secure the safety of Afghans in need of help. What is taking so long? What steps, if any, is your government taking to bring Mr. Saberi, and others who find themselves in this situation, safely home to Canada?

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Leader in the Senate. Senator Gold, last week we learned that a Saskatoon resident has been trying for 19 years to bring his parents, who fled from Afghanistan to Pakistan when the Taliban took over in the late 1990s, to Canada.

There was some progress last July: They rented a house for a year, furnished it and they have been paying for an empty house since. His parents, who now live in a refugee colony, have repeatedly sold everything every time there was a movement on their file. Senator Gold, this is not an isolated case. The family has been trying to reunite for over 19 years, well before COVID-19, and has been repeatedly let down by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. What is being done to ensure that applications do not fall through the cracks?

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Senator Gold, my question is about Afghanistan too. On August 15, the Taliban effectively sealed their control over Afghanistan in a matter of days. The 20-year-old war was over, and Afghan interpreters and mission staff who had worked alongside the Canadian Armed Forces were abandoned. The initial response was that nobody could have foreseen the sudden and swift return of the Taliban, but we know that is not accurate. A recent “The Fifth Estate” investigation revealed that the Office of the Minister of Immigration was aware of the urgency to take decisive action and bring our interpreters to safety in Canada, and as early as February 2020, he was contacted by MP Marcus Powlowski. Also, in December of 2020, a total of 24 MPs signed a letter addressed to both the Minister of Immigration and the Minister of Foreign Affairs requesting the government help Afghan interpreters.

Senator Gold, given the number of requests submitted to the Minister of Immigration to act swiftly in rescuing Afghan interpreters, why did the Government of Canada wait until the Taliban takeover to rescue vulnerable Afghans?