Following the government’s refusal to accept refugees from Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover of that country, the NGO which would have facilitated their arrival has said that their ‘death certificates’ had already been signed.
Exitus has tried to bring 126 Afghan refugees to South Africa. Exitus CEO Candace Rivera said that those involved faced a very real threat to their lives.
‘They’re American allies, they did something for the Afghan government, maybe they were chief of police… a ton of female activists, female physicians, female attorneys, females who have been survivors of trauma that speak out, females who are humanitarian NGOs’, she told journalist Peter Fabricius.
South Africa has said that it was not in a position to accept the refugees since it already hosted significant numbers from elsewhere and these consumed resources.
Rivera, however, said that the organisation had chartered flights and arranged accommodation and sponsorship. It only needed clearance for them to come to South Africa pending the approval of their further move to the US.
‘So, nothing was needed by the South African government. We’re completely funding these individuals as well as their evacuation’, she said.
She also noted that while they were to be moved from Pakistan – and would thus not be coming directly from Afghanistan – they were not in a safe country, and would still be in danger of violence from the Taliban or its allies.