Nazefa Haidari (right) speaks about her experiences in Afghanistan and resettling in Lethbridge through a translator (left), October 21, 2022. (Image: Lethbridge News Now)

By Jerran Fisher

Afghan refugees speak about Lethbridge community support

Oct 21, 2022 | 4:11 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge Family Services (LFS) has welcomed 44 refugees from Afghanistan since the beginning of October 2022 and says they have been embraced by the community just weeks after their arrival.

Ahmad Fahim Ahmadi, a refugee from the country, says he felt he was in paradise upon first arriving in Canada.

“I am appreciative of the Lethbridge Family Services. They really support us with finance, and food, and helping enter Canadian culture,” says Ahmadi.

Ahmadi worked for the US Army and Canadian Armed Forces from 2010-2015.

He fled from Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the government in 2021.

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“I was feeling that this was the time the Taliban will catch me and kill me because I was working for infidels,” Ahmadi said.

Upon arrival in Lethbridge, Ahmadi says he has been excited to express his rights in Canada.

“I was very sure that I am free here and I can ask my rights for my people back in Afghanistan.” He said, “It was a very exciting feeling and am very happy to be here.”

Ahmadi held a protest in Lethbridge earlier this month on his second day in Canada, asking for the end of genocide in Afghanistan.

He says he had to leave some of his family behind in Afghanistan including his mother and sister, along with her family who are still in hiding in Afghanistan.

“I am here in peace and in a good place,” Ahmadi says, “But my thoughts are with my family back in Afghanistan. I hope I can bring them in the future.”

Nazifa Haidari, an Afghani woman, has a similar story.

She fled Afghanistan four months ago but only arrived in Canada on October 5, 2022.

Speaking through a translator, Haidari says she felt safe right when she stepped foot off the plane in Canada.

“Before I came here, I never had peace and I never lived in peace.” She said, “I was always trapped and my life was always in danger because I used to be a journalist and was fighting for the women’s rights.”

She had to leave her family behind in Afghanistan as well.

“I belonged to the Hazara community myself,” Haidari said. “Right now, my family is not safe. They are in hiding because of the conditions they are living in and because of the tribe they belong to.”

Haidari says she wants to thank the Lethbridge community for all of the support she has received since arriving in Canada and asks people and the Canadian government to continue helping those still in danger in Afghanistan.

Upon arriving in Lethbridge, LFS works to resettle refugees as quickly as possible.

They use cash donations to pay for food, lodging, healthcare, and immigration services.

John Lafferty, director of immigrant services at LFS, says support has been absolutely fantastic, and he expects another 74 refugees from various countries will arrive in Lethbridge by the end of December 2022.

READ MORE: 43 Afghan refugees arrive in Lethbridge