Sarwar Danish arrived in New Zealand from Turkey last December, while other Afghans working for New Zealand forces are still afraid for their lives.
The decision by New Zealand to resettle a former Afghan vice president and 13 family members have sparked debate, with some questioning why hundreds of Afghans who assisted New Zealand forces or were associated with them remain trapped abroad and in fear for their lives.
New Zealand faces backlash over Afghan ex-VP’s resettlement
Sarwar Danish had already fled to Turkey before arriving in New Zealand, according to Stuff, which broke the story first.
Danish, a member of Afghanistan’s Hazara minority, was resettled in part due to his human rights advocacy, according to Associate Immigration Minister Phil Twyford.
However, an Afghan translator who collaborated with the New Zealand SAS told Stuff that the case demonstrated the need for the New Zealand government to do more. “It’s very upsetting that someone… with no connection to New Zealand has been resettled here while people who clearly supported the New Zealand SAS have been left alone.”
Assadullah Nazari, president of New Zealand’s Hazara Afghan Association, said he backed Danish resettlement but that hundreds of Hazara were still in danger in Afghanistan and needed visas.
“To see that they are still around and struggling – that the Taliban is trying to kill them – and that Danish has been brought from a safe location in Turkey?” “It just doesn’t seem right.”
According to Nazari, the government should be doing more to resettle others who are still in danger in Afghanistan.
When contacted through an intermediary, Danish refused to comment.
As part of its reaction to the Taliban power grab of Afghanistan last August, New Zealand gave 1,400 visas to Afghans. Twelve hundred dollars were given to Afghans connected with New Zealand’s presence in Afghanistan, and 200 dollars were given to Afghans who were at “extreme risk” from the Taliban. Danish, the second vice-president in then-President Ashraf Ghani’s administration, falls into the latter category.
However, only 800 of the Afghans awarded visas have come to New Zealand, owing in part to the fact that New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) evacuation efforts from Kabul were shortened in late August following a fatal terrorist attack.
