Risking it all: Afghans face a perilous journey across 12 countries through jungles and rivers to reach Canada

Three Afghan refugees share their harrowing experiences of fleeing the Taliban and embarking on a dangerous quest for safety. They share their stories of overcoming numerous obstacles and enduring treacherous conditions crossing 12 countries, mostly by foot, to seek refuge in Canada.

After the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, thousands of Afghans who had worked with NATO forces, including the U.S. and Canada, were evacuated from Afghanistan through special programs.

So far, Canada has welcomed over 32,000 vulnerable Afghans, including those who assisted the government of Canada, journalists and human rights activists. 

But many of the vulnerable Afghans who were not on the list of evacuees in Western countries took temporary refuge in neighbouring countries such as Iran, Pakistan and Tajikistan—and some have made long and dangerous journeys through multiple continents with the aim of reaching Canada.

"It was not important to me which country I would go to, what mattered to me was finding peace and being accepted as an immigrant there, where I could be protected,” Hamid, whose real name CTV News agreed not to use to protect his identity, said in an interview with CTVNews.ca.

To make his dream come true, Hamid decided to leave Iran where he had been living for a year, studying and working as a general labourer after he was forced to leave Afghanistan.

Hamid was working with the former Afghan government in Kabul and studying for a master’s degree at a university in Iran, which was offering online courses at the time due to COVID-19.

Before the Taliban fighters reached Kabul, where he was living, he felt that he needed to leave, because if the Taliban discovered that he worked with the former Afghan government, his life would be in danger.