A British Columbian woman with immediate family members in Afghanistan said that she worries about whether she will be captured or killed by the Taliban every moment of every day.
“They will not pity our family, and I hope the Canadian government can do something for those who live here but are spiritually in Afghanistan,” Shiba Mohammadi told Global News.
Burnaby’s 24-year-old parents, two brothers and five younger sisters all went into hiding. She said she was thinking about whether they were still alive all day long.
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“I am worried about the safety of my family. I have not slept well in the past month, nor have I eaten well. I force my body to take Tylenol or Advil to sleep and live,” she said.
“I feel like I’m in a horror movie. I can’t believe this will happen. The Canadian government has the ability to do more for the Afghans.”
The Canadian rescue mission ended on Thursday, when 500 Canadians left Kabul on a US flight. Mohammadi hopes that the Canadian government will provide a quick plan to keep families safe and encourage neighboring countries to open their borders to Afghans seeking asylum.
She said the Canadian government should act sooner.
Shiba Mohammadi’s father-in-law was killed by a stray bullet in a fierce battle between the Taliban and the Afghan army on August 8, 2021.
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“When the United States announced that they were leaving Afghanistan, they knew it was going to happen, and they should have done more at the time,” she said.
Mohammadi said that in recent weeks, her father-in-law was killed by a bullet in the head in a battle as the Taliban marched into Afghanistan.
She said that her cousin was a member of the Afghan army and was subsequently shot by the Taliban. His body was burned by the Taliban. She added that the most dangerous thing now is her female relatives.
Shiba Mohammadi’s cousin, she said he was brutally killed by the Taliban in July 2021 because he was a member of the Afghan army.
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“After that, my (16-year-old) sister was shot and injured in the leg due to the ongoing fighting,” she said.
“I imagine every day-they will be forced to marry Taliban fighters-or make them sex slaves to the Taliban, not just my sisters, every Afghan family has young girls,” she said.
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Mohammadi said that only her father could leave their home in Afghanistan to obtain food and water for her family. She said that when he did so, he left the smartphone at home, fearing that they would be traced back to his relatives and confiscated.
Shiba Mohammadi’s sister was shot in the leg during the fighting between the Taliban and the Afghan army in July 2021.
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“They said that the Taliban had asked people to destroy and collect TVs so that people could not see what was going on. I heard (from contacts in Kunduz Province) that they announced that they would collect smartphones so that people would not be able to communicate with others. get in touch.”
Mohammadi is a permanent resident. He has lived in Canada for three years and has undergone two takeovers by the Taliban in 2016 and 2017.
She said what she saw, and the hearing that happened today was worse.
She said: “I heard that they knock on the door three times a day to ask for food and force people to feed them during the day.”
“People don’t have their own food and water, how will they feed the terrorists? People have no choice but to provide them with dinner, breakfast, or lunch to stay alive.”
A letter from the Taliban Mohammadi said it had been distributed near her hometown community, asking the clergy to create a list of girls over 15 years old who married Taliban fighters.
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Mohammadi said that last month she received a letter from the Taliban near her hometown, asking the imam of the mosque to list the names of girls aged 15 and over who married Taliban members after defeating Western occupiers, despite the Taliban leaders Promise that they have changed.
“They haven’t changed. We have a lot of evidence from the 1990s of how they behaved and how they cruelly punish women,” said Friba Rezayee, executive director of the non-profit organization, whose name is ” The organization of “Leaders of Tomorrow” is also the first female Olympic athlete in the history of Afghanistan.
“The information has changed, but they are the same Taliban. I don’t believe them. No one should believe it.”
Rezayee urged the Canadian government to help more female athletes leave Afghanistan.
“In view of the strict ancient and barbaric Islamic law, women are not allowed to go to school or engage in sports. Women are forbidden to do so. The Taliban will hunt down all female athletes because according to their Islamic law, sports are’haram’ (prohibited ),” Rezayee said.
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Murwarid Ziayee of the Canadian Women’s Promotion of Afghan Women’s Organization said that women’s situation is terrible and she keeps in touch with some of them.
“They are crying. They change their positions every night to ensure safety, but how long can they protect themselves by doing so? Women are very worried about their safety, their lives, and the protection the international community has promised them,” Ziayee said.
She said that the basic freedoms that women have enjoyed over the past two decades are gone, and the situation will only get worse after the August 31 deadline for the withdrawal of US troops.
She said: “There will be a lot of retaliation, executions and female oppression, forcing them to return home and depriving them of all the basic rights they have enjoyed over the past 20 years.”
“When the U.S. forces withdraw, these are the first things waiting for Afghans, especially women.”
Ziayee called on the international community to put pressure on the Taliban to open land borders and access airports to allow those at direct risk to flee the country.
Mohammadi said she felt helpless.
She has contacted local MPs (at the time of the dissolution of Parliament) Jagmeet Singh, Canadian Minister of Women and Gender Equality Maryam Monsef, Minister of Immigration Marco Mendicino, Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada, and the Prime Minister’s Office. The latter was the only one who responded.
“I know why you are writing to the Prime Minister,” said part of an email from a PMO representative.
“Although I sympathize with the situation you described, I hope you can understand that he cannot personally intervene or provide you with direct assistance in this matter.”
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