Afghan refugees want Canada to bring more family and friends to join them

Atiq fled Afghanistan shortly before the Taliban took control of Kabul. He went to Turkey, where he is now living in a basement without any status, working in a bakery and facing the risk of deportation every day.

"I feel like I'm in jail, scared to go out of my one room beyond work. I'm just counting the days until I can come to Canada. I'm getting depressed," he said with the aid of a translator.

CBC agreed to only use Atiq's first name to protect his safety. He said if he tried to obtain refugee status in Turkey, he would be caught and deported to Afghanistan.

"A few months ago, the Turkish police took some of my friends and deported them to Iran, from there to Pakistan where they were handed over to the Taliban. None of them ever reached home to their families."

Monday is Nowruz, the Persian new year. The popular festival celebrated throughout Iran and Central Asia is usually marked by a public holiday, with families gathering to prepare festive dishes and welcome the spring.

The Taliban, however, cancelled the public holiday, saying it does not carry any significance in Islam.

CBC spoke with recent newcomers, and with Afghan nationals hoping to be allowed to come to Canada before the next Nowruz. 

As Canada inches closer to its target of resettling 40,000 Afghan refugees before the end of the year, many want the program to be extended.

Atiq and his family members were well-known human and women rights activists. Atiq's uncle Amanullah Arian said the Taliban has been pestering Atiq's father for his and his sister's whereabouts. 

"The Taliban has taken Atiq's father to jail a few times to beat him up," Arian said.

Atiq's sister has been married off and is hiding in a village in Afghanistan, as the Taliban wanted to execute her. 

"When I last spoke with Atiq's sister, she was really afraid of her safety. She speaks English and that is an evil language for the Taliban. All her dreams have now fallen apart," Mariam Arian, Atiq's aunt, said.

Atiq's uncle, aunt and three other sponsors have been trying to bring the 29-year-old to safety in Brampton, Ont., since 2021. They submitted an application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on June 23, 2022.

"Our hope is that this will be the last Nowruz that we celebrate without Atiq here. No one should be alone on Nowruz," Mariam said.