Grandfather pleads for government to reunite Afghan child with family after visas denied

For the past year, Mohad Asef Faqiri has been trying his best to support his wife, daughter and 10-year-old grandson, Hadis Afghanfarin Toronto as well as Hadis'sparents and his two brothers abroad.

Hadis, his grandparentsandother members of his family got separatedfromhis parents at Kabul International Airport in the rushto flee Afghanistan during the Taliban takeover last summer. They managed to getto Canadawhilehis parents and their other childrenfled to neighbouring Pakistan.They were hopeful they'd reunitesoon after.

But with their temporary resident visas (TRV) denied by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) last month after eight months of waiting, Faqiri's not sure when the child's mother and father can get here and he doesn't know how much longer Hadis can take being apart.

"It's difficult to deal with him sometimes. He's crying, he's screaming. He has nightmares," saidFaqiri, 58.

"His parents have to be here."

The difficulty of getting Afghan refugees to Canada isn't new, but experts say it flies in the face of Canada's rapid response inhelping Ukrainian refugees. About 16,000 out of the 40,300 Afghan refugees Canada promised to resettle have arrived since the government's pledge last September, in direct contrast to the 136,877 TRVs approved for Ukrainian citizens fleeing the Russian invasion between mid-March and mid-June alone.

The denial letters provided to CBC News show the IRCC rejected their applications because it wasn't confident they would leave the countryafter their visas expired.

Kimia Moshiri, the Afghanfars' immigration consultant, says the family only qualified for TRV applications, and upon the IRCC's denials, she says shesent a reconsideration letter to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipSean Fraser asking for temporary resident permits (TRPs) instead.

Thatwould have allowed them to at least visit Hadis on a short-term basis.However, she says the decision remained the same.

"IRCC did not consider the child's best interest in this case, nor did they treat this case special as it involves a separated Afghan family," said Moshiri in an email to CBC News.

"IRCC processed this case the same as other TRV applications; we were not expecting this."

Why Ukrainians but not otherrefugees?

The IRCCsays it can't comment on individual cases for privacy and security reasons. But in an email to CBC News, IRCC spokesperson Rmi Larivire says while the department understandswhen people are disappointed by a visa refusal, it has to maintain certain immigration standards.

"When a visa officer refuses an application, it is because the applicant does not meet the requirements set out in Canada's immigration law," said Larivire.

However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has shown immigration experts that these requirements can be lowered and revised in emergency situations in ways that always seemed out of reach in previous global emergencies, says Janet Dench,the executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees.

"That's a really positive development," saidDench.

"And what our request is, is that that way of thinking be extended to other groups."

For years, the Canadian Council for Refugees has been appealing to the Canadian government to fast-track family reunification cases, grantTRVswhile applicants work toward permanent residency and TRPs to help reunite families in the interim, and accept more refugees.

While progress has been made in utilizing these tactics more efficiently to get Ukrainian refugees to Canada faster, it can't stop there, says Dench.

"It is something that people are asking: why Ukrainians, but not people from Ethiopia, or from Afghanistan, or many other situations in crisis that people are fleeing?"

In response to the difference in refugee treatment,Larivire says the Canada-Ukraine emergency visa is a temporary program and thus different from the Afghanistan refugee resettlement program,sincemanyUkrainians "intend to return to their home country when it will be safe to do so."

"Although every situation is different, IRCC is always guided by the same values and principles," saidLarivire.

'Help us in this situation'

In general, the council says immigrants often wait years to reunite with their families, and often tothe detriment of their own mental and physical health.

In Hadis's case, Dench says it may be harder to get his family here than in other cases, since Canadian immigration policy doesn't outline a clear path for uniting a minor in Canada with parents abroad.

Faqiri says while he can try to explore what remaining options are left to get his family here, he hopes his pleas reach Ottawa.

He hopes the federal government canrelieve himof the strain of supporting two families, rescue relativescaught in a dangerous situation abroad, and help a 10-year-old-boy struggling to understand why he can't be with his parents.

"I don't want to complain about this process at all, because there's a lot of people like Hadis in a bad situation, especially through the Russian situation They are human beings, they need help like us," he said.

"But I'm urging the government, and I really urge immigration, to help us in this situation."