CIMM – Afghanistan Success Stories – February 8, 2023
Appearance Before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on the Government’s Response to the Final Report of the Special Committee on Afghanistan
Key Successes
Since August 2021, Canadians have given more than $1M, donated over 200,000 goods (including children’s toys, clothing and personal care products) and opened their homes, with more than 5,000 offers of temporary accommodations.
Over 7,600 Afghan newcomer children eligible for school, from ages four to 18, including nearly 3,800 Afghan girls, have come to Canada since August 2021. This includes many young women and girls who might not have had the opportunity to go to school in Afghanistan.
Small and large employers across Canada have stepped up their efforts to offer jobs to Afghan newcomers by providing them with the opportunities, skills and work experience they need to be successful. McCain Foods, Maple Leaf Foods and Amazon are just a few examples of companies that have created employment options for Afghans.
Canadian educational institutions are helping newcomers gain access to valuable career training programs and providing educational supports. This includes Western University in London, Ontario, which has created new scholarships for Afghan students to cover tuition, fees and living expenses of up to $100,000 over four years of study.
The Settlement Program is funding the Kids Help Phone, which provides free, 24/7, confidential mental health resources to young people across Canada, to provide counselling services for Afghan and Ukrainian youth. In addition to English and French, the service is available in Dari, Pashto, Ukrainian and Russian.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has funded two major service providers, Talent Pool in Calgary and ACCES Employment in Toronto, to offer monthly virtual job fairs to connect employers and recently arrived refugees. These have proven so successful that we are exploring whether these can be conducted on a weekly basis.
Stories of Afghan Newcomers
Maryam Masoomi arrived in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in October 2021. In Afghanistan, Maryam attended Marefat High School, a school that championed education for women. Since coming to Canada, she won an award for her leadership skills, met with His Majesty King Charles III, began hosting a local radio show and started working with newcomer youth.
Najibullah Sorosh dedicated more than 20 years to educating children, including girls, and helped establish two high schools that had close to gender parity. After fleeing Kabul, he landed in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in September 2021, where he now works with refugees and immigrants.
Sheila Qayumi advocated for peace and women’s rights from her home in Afghanistan. Since settling in Calgary in September 2021, she has found meaningful work as an interpreter and counselor helping other Afghan women integrate into Canadian society.
Ghousuddin Frotan, an Afghan journalist, arrived in Canada in early 2022 with his family, leaving behind the English school and non-profit organization he founded in Kandahar. From their new home in Windsor, Ontario, the Frotan children have embraced their new school, and Ghousuddin resumed his journalism career, winning a fellowship from the University of Toronto.
Zuhal Ahad, a Hazara Afghan refugee, lived in fear of being targeted as a female journalist working in Afghanistan. Since arriving in Canada in early 2022, Zuhal returned to her career, covering human rights and women’s rights in Afghanistan for international media including the Guardian, Al Jazeera and NPR. Zuhal’s hard work was rewarded when she was named a 2022-2023 William Southam Journalism Fellow at the University of Toronto. She also volunteers as a translator to assist other Afghan newcomers in their resettlement journey.
Abdul Hakim Azizi was as an interpreter for the Canadian Armed Forces who arrived in Canada in August 2021. He and his wife have settled in Ottawa, where she is studying English, and he has found work at a tech start-up. Since arriving in Canada, this young couple has built a close community of friends, including other Afghan newcomers, helping to create a feeling of home in their new city.