Efat couldn’t say goodbye to her family when she fled Kabul. Now she doesn’t know if she’ll see them again

Efat left Kabul in such a hurry she didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to her parents and siblings.

The Hazara woman, who worked as an interpreter for Australian and US troops, knew a future in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan was not an option for her.

The 28-year-old spent two weeks in the heat, staking out the crowded gates of Kabul International Airport for an opportunity to flee Afghanistan, after Taliban insurgents captured the country.

Once she saw a chance to leave, she had to seize the opportunity and didn’t have time to go back and farewell her family.

Now living in Adelaide, Efat, who is not using her real name because of concerns for her family’s safety, wants to urgently bring her family to Australia.

She fears they could become targets because of their Hazara ethnicity and her work with coalition forces.

“Every day and every moment I’m thinking  … ‘how should I get them out of that country?’ because there is no life for … them [there],” she told the ABC.

“I am all by myself and I have not a single person of my family with me … the problem is that I have in my mind that they’re in a place that is not safe for them.”

In the wake of the US withdrawal in August, Afghans who worked with the coalition forces have been killed. 

The Taliban have also been evicting Hazara, who are Shia Muslims, from their homes and land while Islamic State have begun launching deadly suicide bombings on areas where they live. 

Efat said she had held off submitting a visa application for her family because she didn’t know how many family members she could bring to Australia.

But in response to questions by the ABC, the Department of Home Affairs said there was no limit on the number of close family members a humanitarian visa holder could propose.

Efat said while she was grateful the Australian government had helped people like herself evacuate, the government should make the guidelines around applying for visas for family in Afghanistan clearer. 

“Please bring our families to us, please make us feel like we’re going to see our family members again,” she said, holding back tears.

‘Pretty disastrous’ visa process

While some former interpreters for Australian forces have made it to Australia, others in Afghanistan are still waiting for visas. 

The Australian government has opened 3,000 humanitarian visas for Afghans wanting to flee, but a Senate inquiry last week heard none of those humanitarian visas had been issued despite the government receiving more than 20,000 applications.

Veteran and lawyer Glenn Kolomeitz said Australia’s humanitarian visa process for Afghans had been “pretty disastrous”.

“To date, none of those have been given permanent visas. Many have been given very short-term, temporary safe haven visas.”

Mr Kolomeitz made a submission to a Defence and Foreign Affairs Senate inquiry probing the federal government’s two-stage visa application process for former Afghan employees of Australian government agencies.

In his submission, he said some former Afghan interpreters for Australia could not complete the second part of their application because Australia had already closed its embassy in Kabul.

The Department of Foreign Affairs did not respond to the ABC’s request for comment. 

Mr Kolomeitz told the ABC the families of former locally engaged interpreters also faced a heightened risk of persecution in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and should be prioritised. 

“All of our clients who are here in Australia … have family in Afghanistan, that gives them a very strong link to Australia … but these people are still not being prioritised,” he said.

“What we’re seeing is they’re simply joining the pile of other applications from every other Afghan who was applying to come to Australia on humanitarian grounds.”

Fears the Taliban will target interpreters’ families 

Ahmad, who worked with ADF soldiers in Afghanistan, also has family in the country and fears the Taliban will target them.

The ABC is not using Ahmad’s real name to protect his family’s identity.

He said he had contacted migration lawyers and prepared visa application forms to try and get his family an Australian visa.

But with thousands of other Afghans applying for just a few thousand visas, he is worried his family will not make the cut.

“I know their families, they want to get their members, their loved ones over here but the amount of risk to the Afghan interpreters’ families from [the] Taliban in Afghanistan is more than any other thing you can think [of],” Ahmad said.

“I’ve heard rumours and there has been some activities by the Taliban, that they are looking for the families of the Afghan interpreters.”

He has joined calls to prioritise the families of Afghan interpreters for humanitarian visas. 

“I[t] will be very good, if they can prioritise the visa for the Afghan interpreters’ families first, especially their parents, because … most of these interpreters were living with their parents in one house,” he said.

“If they cannot get out on time, sooner or later the Taliban will come and come after them.”

Hanging onto hope

Mr Kolomeitz said there was still hope for recently evacuated Afghans in Australia wanting to reunite with their families.

“We got a family out in the last week, whose interpreter family live here in Australia [and] are permanent residents,” he said.

“But there are still many family members stuck in Afghanistan who we and others are working on getting visas for and evacuating.”

In response to questions from the ABC, the Department of Home Affairs said priority would be given to persecuted minorities, women and children and those who have links to Australia.

For Efat, she just wants to see her parents and siblings again, out of harm’s way.

“I have my brothers younger than me and … they have not even started their life yet and they’re struggling,” she said.