Refugee Update and Call to Action (Petition available on Sunday)
In November, 2025, a subgroup of the McDougall UC Refugee group agreed to be co-sponsors (Constituent Group or CG) with the Anglican Diocese of Calgary - Refugee Support Group (Sponsorship Agreement Holder or SAH) and Mojib (son/brother, sponsor) to support Mojib's mother and 3 sisters (Afghan refugees) on arrival in Canada, from Pakistan.
The women were previously selected to be sponsored to the US due to the mother's past humanitarian work. They had everything in place (flight tickets, etc.) but in January 2025 the US administration halted their sponsorship and left them in limbo.
The 4 women were alone in Pakistan. Women unaccompanied by a male are at high risk of extortion and abuse, which they have sadly been subjected too. Also, it is now an offence in Pakistan to provide any support including housing, groceries or any basic survival services, to Afghan refugees.
They have been mistreated and subjected to assault, humiliation and threats from Pakistani officials, leaving them in a constant state of fear and feeling vulnerable
On January 26, 2026, because of an immigration issue, these female refugees were detained by the Pakistani police. On January 27, 2026, they were deported to Afghanistan, putting them in grave danger.
The mother, worked as a women rights defender for over 20 years. From 1998 to 2021 she worked with several national and international organizations, including UN-Habitat, the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR), Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the United Nations World Food Program (WPF) in roles including Master Trainer, Team Leader, Social Worker and Field Monitor. She founded NGOs to help women become independent and leave abusive husbands.
We fear that their return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan will endanger their lives in unimaginable ways.
In addition, the husband, father to the young women, is actively searching for them. He is ethnically and ideologically aligned with the Taliban and has arranged for the daughters to forcefully marry men in his group.
The mother has ongoing health issues and experienced an event during the detention which has severely worsened her condition. She now requires urgent medical care that she can not access until arriving in Canada.
An application is with the IRCC (Immigration Refugees and citizenship Canada), the SAH has informed them of the change of situation and its urgency, but processing might not be quick enough to respond. We are allowing time for IRCC to respond but are also preparing to involve an MP's help. If needed, a detailed letter will be presented to the MP together with names of those who also approve making this family's case a priority.
If you would like to sign the petition please visit the Office during Office hours, or see Marjorie or June in the Hospitality Hall after the Sunday service. If you have already signed please do not sign again.
Unable to sign in person? If you are unable to sign in person, but would like your name added in support of IRCC expediting the family's case to bring them safely to Canada, please forward your Name and Address to June, juniec3po@gmail.com to be added to a list of supporters unable to sign in person.