13-year-old who penned letter asking Canada for help crosses Afghanistan border, but says family remains in danger
A 13-year-old boy fleeing Afghanistan is begging for help getting to Canada, saying that he and his family are still in danger despite managing to get out of the country.
The seven–person family fled their home on Thursday by car and crossed the Afghanistan border. The boy, who CTV News Toronto is not identifying, said that he saw the Taliban out of his car window.
"They had guns but they were hitting people with something, some kind of wood or something," he says.
The boy says he was paralyzed with fear that the Taliban would find him.
"I couldn't do anything," he says. "I was so worried, mournful in my heart, you know I couldn't … I couldn't talk."
“I'm asking that please, I beg you … get us out from Afghanistan, it is dangerous for us.”
The family has become potential targets of the Taliban because of a very public position in favour of women's education.
The boy’s aunt told CTV News Toronto that she fears that, "if they don't get out, they will be killed."
The aunt, who CTV News Toronto is also not identifying, is a university researcher. She says she remains worried.
"I'm very worried about his future," she said. "Even if he stayed, even if he doesn't die physically he will die mentally. He will never be able to do the things that he wants to do, he will suffocate."
Immigration lawyer Erin Simpson, who is representing the family, says that the goal is to be among the 20,000 refugees that Canada is accepting in the coming days and weeks.
"Overseas refugee applications are often plagued by unbelievable delays and red tape, and with the situation so volatile, these refugees are very vulnerable to being returned to Afghanistan,” Simpson said.
"Canada needs to ensure that in addition to the evacuation attempts, they are getting this program for resettlement up and running and ready to be nimble."
Meanwhile the boy is pleading for a chance.
"If I can go to another country, Canada, I will raise the voice of women, I will raise the voice of youth. I will be helping the world."
His aunt says their family is well-educated, a champion of women's rights, and would contribute to Canada.
"These are the people that the world needs," she said. "Right now they need the world’s help, but then later on, the world needs them to help make a better world."
They just hope that they are soon on a plane before they are sent back.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.