Watch Video: Afghanistan nationals gather outside Australian Embassy in Delhi, seek assistance from govt | ANI Photo
Afghanistan nationals on Thursday gathered outside the Australian Embassy in the national capital seeking immigration visas following the recent takeover of the war-torn country by the Taliban.
This comes after Australia recently said that it will offer 3,000 places over a year in its humanitarian visa program specifically for those now fleeing Afghanistan. The country's Prime Minister Scott Morrison however clarified in a recent press conference that "I note that some are talking about figures of 20,000 but can I tell you there are no clear plans about that. Australia is not going into that territory".
Watch Video:
"We heard that Australian Embassy is giving 3000 visas to Afghan nationals. When we came here, they gave us a form, which says we have to first send an email to UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) which will refer us to the embassy for visas. But UNHCR office doesn't respond," news agency ANI quoted an Afghan national as saying.
Rabi Jalalzai, an Afghan national staying in India for two years told ANI: "After Taliban captured our country, we can't go back there. People are trying to come to India as refugees but we are facing so many problems here. The UNHCR office is not helping us with anything. My family has applied for a visa and it has already been two years, but we don't even get a call for the interview."
Jalalzai added that it was impossible to fulfil the conditions for getting an Australian visa as it required a recommendation from UNHCR. "They are not calling us for the interview, then how will they recommend us. We are here for help but they even told us not to stand outside here and called the police," he stated.
Syed Abdullah, another Afghan national who has been staying in India for the past eight years said that he has not yet received any help from UNHCR in these eight years.
"We have security issues. I received a death threat from the Taliban as I worked with an NGO that was aided by European Union (EU) and United States (US). So I came here to get the visa as promised to refugees but we are not getting any clear answer," stated Abdullah.
Meanwhile, Afghan nationals on Thursday also gathered outside the US embassy. My family back home is scared after the Taliban take over. We request support from India and the US. We don't have any jobs here and are facing financial troubles," news agency ANI quoted an Afghan national as saying.
Several Afghan nationals living in Delhi also flocked the Canadian embassy.
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