Australian-based charities with staff in Afghanistan say they are deeply concerned for the safety of their networks and programs on the ground.
They also expressed their disappointment in the response from the Australian government, after the prime minister, Scott Morrison, told reporters on Wednesday that the government’s first rescue mission brought back only 26 people.
Morrison said it was the first of a number of flights to evacuate people from Afghanistan, and that around 3,000 people will be resettled in Australia after the capital fell to the Taliban on Sunday.
But two Australian charities with staff and networks on the ground in Afghanistan have said the government needs to do more.
Nawid Cina is the acting general manager of Mahboba’s Promise, a charity dedicated to helping disadvantaged women and children in Afghanistan.
Mahboba’s Promise currently has 40 active staff members in Afghanistan, working to deliver emergency aid as well as support orphanages and schools for girls and boys.
But Cina said many of the charity’s programs were in “hibernation” because they focused on the immediate needs of displaced people.
“At the moment, we’re confronted with the reality on the ground, which is that, unofficially, there are 900,000 displaced people, with the UN placing that number around 400,000,” he said.
“There are 900 families near our Kabul office and they have nothing. Since the Taliban have come, they have literally nothing to eat. They have been completely forgotten. So we are running an emergency appeal for them.”
Cina said one of the primary challenges facing the charity was the threat facing the recipients of their support, such as orphans. He said that because the charity was associated with Australia, it puts anyone associated with it in danger.
“We’re quite worried, to put it lightly,” he said. “People know that’s where the money is coming from Australia and this is something that really puts our staff and the orphans in danger. They’re definitely afraid, but the staff themselves have said they need to help people. It’s been one of the most inspiring things, to see their response.
“But I get messages every day asking if there was any way we can get them out.”
Cina said there was a sense of uncertainty on the ground in Afghanistan, fuelled by the speed of the Taliban’s move to retake the country and memories of their previous regime.
“So the discourse that’s coming out publicly from the Taliban is one of peace and of an armistice, but the reality on the ground is that no women are leaving their homes, our schools are shut, all of our programs have stopped, and we just don’t know how they will be received,” he said.
“No one really knows what will happen. We will see the action behind the rhetoric soon, if it is true or not, but history is working against us at the moment.”
He said it was “deeply sad” that the Australian government “haven’t been able to do more” and that the steps taken by the federal government are still just not enough.
“This is a time for generosity and compassion from our government,” Cina said. “We need to open up our borders. We did it following [the war in] Vietnam, with [former prime minister Malcolm] Fraser, and we did it with [former prime minister Bob] Hawke following Tiananmen Square. This is a moment for Australia to do the same. It’s a moment for generosity and compassion.”
Besmellah Resaee is a board member of the Baba Mazari Foundation, which is based in Adelaide and focuses its charity work on helping impoverished families, child labourers and disadvantaged students in Afghanistan.
Resaee said they have 12 staff members on the ground right now, who are in grave danger, although he said they were extremely brave.
“They are such courageous people, and they have repeatedly emphasised to us the danger they are in,” he said. “We have had horrific stories of Taliban going door-knocking, trying to find traces of people with connection to the west. And because our charity is established in Australia, any connection with us could expose them to danger.
“We’re not doing anything wrong. We are doing humanitarian work. And the Taliban, if they are true to their word, shouldn’t harm us.”
Resaee said he has gone to the Australian government, asking it to help evacuate his staff, but had received no “concrete response”.
“They have basically stated that they would only consider the priority groups that they have mentioned, those that have worked with Australian troops or the embassy. We have had to ask our friends in Canada to expand our chances,” he said.
“I’m extremely disappointed in the press announcement by the prime minister, but I’m still hoping that they would listen to people calling on them to take a leadership role.
“We have a moral obligation. We have an obligation under international law and international conventions that we are a signatory to. We can’t just abandon Afghanistan.”
