(Sample Emails/Call messages below) As MPs enjoy self-congratulatory summer BBQs, there is no vacation for imperiled high-profile Afghan women’s rights activist Farzana Adell. Please take two minutes to send an email and make a call to protect her life from multiple Taliban death threats. Now hiding in a third country where her permit runs out soon – exposing her to the risk of forced return to torture or death in Afghanistan – Farzana meets all eligibility criteria for entry to Canada under the “special humanitarian program to resettle vulnerable Afghan nationals outside of Afghanistan.”
But Canada has thusfar failed to provide her a safe path to get here. Her file sits on the Minister of Immigration’s desk flagged urgent, yet there’s no action yet to approve it. You can read more about her story in the Ottawa Citizen at https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/in-limbo-and-in-danger-advocates-fighting-to-bring-afghan-womens-rights-activist-to-ottawa
Even though Farzana meets every single one of the criteria – a women’s rights leader, a human rights defender, and a member of a persecuted religious group and ethnic minority who is at risk of torture or death – Canada is relying on fine print bureaucratic bafflegab to prevent her from getting here.
Any further delay is inexcusable when the file itself can be read in less than 30 minutes and the threats to Farzana's safety continue to mount.
The Rural Refugee Rights Network is working with Farzana to obtain her permit. But it won't happen unless enough pressure is applied.
Even if you have written and called before, please do so again. We know from speaking with MPs that the Minister's office has received much criticism for its failure on Farzana's file, so we need to keep up the pressure until they do the right thing!
SAMPLE EMAIL (feel free to add a personal statement)
To: marci.ien@parl.gc.ca, Jenna.sudds@parl.gc.ca, minister-ministre@swc-cfc.gc.ca
CC: IRCC.Minister-Ministre.IRCC@cic.gc.ca, Sean.Fraser@parl.gc.ca, Minister@cic.gc.ca, Marie-France.Lalonde@parl.gc.ca, tasc@web.ca, Caroline.Xavier@cic.gc.ca, ahmed.hussen@parl.gc.ca, JasrajSingh.Hallan@parl.gc.ca, Gary.Anandasangaree@parl.gc.ca, yasir.naqvi@parl.gc.ca, francis.drouin@parl.gc.ca, sukh.dhaliwal@parl.gc.ca, michael.chong@parl.gc.ca, jenny.kwan@parl.gc.ca, alexis.brunelle-duceppe@parl.gc.ca, Yvan.baker@parl.gc.ca, faycal.elkhoury@parl.gc.ca, Pam.Damoff@parl.gc.ca, maninder.sidhu@parl.gc.ca, kerry-lynne.findlay@parl.gc.ca, alex.ruff@parl.gc.ca, Salma.Zahid@parl.gc.ca
Dear Ministers Ien and Fraser,
What will it take for you to save the life of Afghan women's rights defender Farzana Adell, whose urgent application to come to Canada still sits on Minister Fraser's desk months after it was submitted?
Farzana's days are full of fear and despair, and she wonders why it is taking so long for Canada to approve her permit. Without your urgent action, her life remains at grave risk. Other Afghans have been killed waiting for Canada’s help. Your inaction means she could be next.
It is time for you to stop making excuses and approve Farzana's permit. It is time for you both to live up to your own rhetoric.
On December 3, 2021, Marci Ien declared in the House of Commons: "we have women's backs and have had women's backs.”
On May 18, 2022, Sean Fraser declared: I want to emphasize that we remain seized with this effort and are going to continue to work to welcome additional Afghan refugees."
Because you have women's backs and say you are prepared to welcome more Afghan refugees, I am writing to urge you to support Farzana Adell Ghadiya, a leading Afghan women's rights activist who faces Taliban death threats both back home and in the third country where she is hiding. She fears being turned in for deportation back to torture or death in Afghanistan. Though her application for an Early Admission Temporary Resident Permit has been sitting on the Minister’s desk, flagged as “urgent” for months, no action has been taken to open it and recognize that it should be immediately approved.
Farzana merits entry to Canada as a women’s rights leader, a human rights defender, and a member of a persecuted religious group and ethnic minority (she is Hazara and an Ismaili Muslim). Farzana is also unable to access health care where she now lives: she is a severe diabetic with unstable vision, stomach and kidney pains, and ongoing physical and emotional trauma from beatings she endured at the hands of the Taliban. You can learn more about her case in the front page story of the Ottawa Citizen: https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/in-limbo-and-in-danger-advocates-fighting-to-bring-afghan-womens-rights-activist-to-ottawa
Farzana has a loving community awaiting her in Ottawa: free room and board, a well-connected support community including the anti-violence group Women Who Choose to Live and the Rural Refugee Rights Network, and more than enough resources available to help her settle in Canada. She is highly skilled, multilingual, and would easily find employment working for women’s rights in the nation’s capital. A member of that support community who maintains daily contact with Farzana writes: "I know her fear is constant. She has told me she never has peace. Her situation is unbearable and expecting her to wait indefinitely is inhumane."
But without receiving an Early Admission Temporary Resident Permit for Protection, she has no way to get here. Indeed, to “qualify” for acceptance, she must be “referred” by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) or the third country government. In Farzana’s case, she is hiding in a country where the UNHCR stopped registering refugees years ago, and the host country’s government is often unwilling to grant Afghans like Farzana refugee status. Even if she did apply for refugee status in that third country, it would take years to be considered, long past the time when her current permit runs out. That permit cannot be renewed, so Farzana is stuck in a dangerous limbo.
That is why the only option is for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Minister Sean Fraser to exercise his discretion to issue a special permit to allow Farzana to leave her situation of extreme uncertainty and potential danger and find safety here.
As one of more than 30,000 people who have signed a petition in Farzana's support, I urge both of you as the Minister responsible for women's rights and Immigration MInister to prioritize and expedite the approval of a permit for Farzana. Any further delay is inexcusable when the file itself can be read in less than 30 minutes and the threats to Farzana's safety continue to mount.
In addition to meeting all the criteria of Canada’s special humanitarian program, Farzana qualifies as a member of the “Protected temporary residents class”, which was created to facilitate the acquisition of permanent resident status by refugees in urgent need of protection. Alternatively, Canada could welcome Farzana as part of its Urgent Protection Program for those who face “immediate threats to life, liberty or physical well-being.”
In other words, there are no barriers or excuses that can be used by Ottawa to deny entry to Farzana.
Farzana has been working for women’s equality and rights for most of her life. A member of the Afghan Women’s Network almost from its inception, she worked in former President Ghani’s office as the Chief of Staff for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women from 2016-2017. Due to her work building dozens of schools for girls, the Taliban started threatening and harassing her, and on several occasions she was beaten by them. She co-founded Gender Equality Rights Organization Afghanistan (GEROA), where she helped distribute and conduct the Global Count survey of women in Afghanistan, and worked with several global and local non-profits/human rights organizations like Women’s March Global.
Farzana has also been the target of death threats in her third country by the same men who took over the Afghan Embassy. She is worried to be in a country where Afghans are not welcome and are often turned in for deportation. “I live in fear of someone deciding to report that I am here.” All of Farzana’s files – including her home address, school certificates, national ID, passport copy, fingerprints – were all in the Presidential Palace when it was seized by the Taliban.
Last August, Farzana’s apartment was gutted and the windows shot out. There is no future for her in her former country: She writes: “The Taliban knows who I am, and they have my entire file from the Presidential Palace now. I don’t leave my room now, except to buy food on the corner, as I am so afraid they will find me. I have been beaten by the Taliban before I fled my country. They know who I am and know that I am a women’s rights advocate. I am not healthy and worried that I could not take care of myself because I cannot leave my room safely. I cannot build a life or get healthy under these circumstances, and I am at risk of death if found. They will kill me if I enter Afghanistan under any circumstances.”
As someone who has the backs of women, I call on you to have the back of Farzana Adell Ghadiya. The clock is ticking.
Other Afghans have been killed waiting to come to Canada. Your inaction places Farzana at great risk.
Her life’s work for women's rights and gender equality – has placed her life at risk. The least we as Canadians can do is grant her a permit and welcome her to Ottawa. Failure to do so will have tragic consequences for her.
Thank you
Name
City, Town
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SAMPLE PHONE MESSAGES
Marci Ien
Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth
Telephone: 613-992-1377, 416-972-9749
PLEASE only leave respectful messages. If you get the constituency office saying “this is not an issue for our office," gently remind them that it is, because the federal government has committed itself to women's rights and gender-based analysis, and that is an issue that affects every office)
Hi, my name is XXXXX and I'm calling from TOWN, PROVINCE. I’m calling to ask that you help ensure the immediate approval of a temporary resident permit for a high-profile Afghan women's rights activist named Farzana Adell Ghadiya. Her life is at risk from the Taliban, and she qualifies to come here as a women's rights defender and a member of a persecuted ethnic and religious minority. There is a support community waiting for her in Ottawa, but she needs a permit because the rules right now are so narrow that they don't account for her circumstances. Surely, since your office is associated with women's rights, it is within your mandate to speak with the Immigration Minister to prioritize and expedite a permit for Farzana. Your government prides itself as one that supports women's rights, and one way to give that meaning is to help save the life of this very courageous women's rights defender. Please act before it's too late."
ADDITIONAL PHONE MESSAGE FOR SEAN FRASER, IMMIGRATION MINISTER
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser’s office (leave a message if you can, even though the answering machine encourages you not to!): 613-992-6022, (902) 867-2919 and (902) 752-0226
Hi, my name is XXXXX and I'm calling from TOWN, PROVINCE. I’m calling to ask that you help ensure the immediate approval of a temporary resident permit for a high-profile Afghan women's rights activist named Farzana Adell Ghadiya. Her life is at risk from the Taliban, and she qualifies to come here as a women's rights defender and a member of a persecuted ethnic and religious minority. There is a support community waiting for her in Ottawa, but she needs a permit because the rules right now are so narrow that they don't account for her circumstances. Surely, since your office has said it is committed to protecting Afghan women's rights activists, it is within your mandate to prioritize and expedite a permit for Farzana. Your government prides itself as one that supports women's rights, and one way to give that meaning is to help save the life of this very courageous women's rights defender. Please act before it's too late."