'Shocked to the core': B.C.-based advocates respond to Kabul bombings with urgent calls for action
As Friba Rezayee watched the news unfold of twin bombings near Kabul’s airport on Thursday, she felt herself go numb.
“It’s devastating, we can’t take this anymore,” Rezayee, who came to Canada as a refugee in 2011, told CTV News in Vancouver.
“It’s so shocking,” she said. “I’m shocked to the core that honestly I’m not feeling anything anymore.”
Rezayee, who is one of Afghanistan’s first female Olympic athletes, and is now executive director of a non-profit that focuses on providing Afghan women and girls with educational opportunities, including in sports, said she received panicked messages from those who were near the carnage.
Mursal Nowrouzi, who left Afghanistan with her family at the age of five, and lived in Pakistan for 10 years as a refugee before immigrating to Canada, called the bombings simply traumatic.
“I feel like I’m reliving the nightmare that I escaped 20 years ago,” Nowrouzi, with the Afghan Canadian Association said.
“It’s being played out right in front of our faces and we feel hopeless and helpless,” she said, adding that she has a grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins who are essentially trapped in Kabul.
Nowrouzi is now co-organizing a protest for this coming Saturday at 2 p.m. outside the Vancouver Art Gallery to shine a light on a humanitarian crisis she said is only getting worse each day.
“As much as we’re screaming for attention,” she said, “I feel like things have been very slow, and I know (Canada has) the capacity to do more.”
The bombings came just hours after Canada announced its formal evacuation efforts in Afghanistan had come to a close.
It’s not clear how or when Ottawa plans to evacuate those who remain.
Rezayee said she also remains deeply concerned about her family in the Afghan capital who have submitted paperwork with the Canadian government and are waiting to hear something in response.
“I do have seven family members who are in hiding right now,” Rezayee said.
“They are changing their locations every other day,” she explained. “They are changing their phone numbers. They are also changing their photos on social media not to attract any attention.”
And while this advocate for women and children said Canada did a “good” job bringing nearly 4,000 people to safety, she echoed Nowrouzi’s comments that Ottawa could have done more, sooner.
“Canada has the wealth, capacity, and the ability to take more refugees,” Rezayee said, adding that the country and others need to plan now for a process that she called “peaceful” and “proper” to avoid a refugee crisis like that seen after Syria descended into civil war.
Ottawa has pledged to settle some 20,000 Afghan refugees, but critics have pointed out that includes applications that were already pending.
“All these people who are leaving Afghanistan, they just want to be alive, they just want to survive,” Rezayee said. “That’s not a lot to ask.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
MPs agree Canadian gov't should improve new disability benefit
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
New charges for Ont. woman who previously admitted to defrauding doulas
The Brantford, Ont. woman who was previously sentenced to house arrest after admitting to deceiving doulas has been charged again in connection to a new victim.