Thomas Baldwin reports on a united Church and charities call for urgent support for refugees fleeing Afghanistan.

THE Church of Scotland and Christian charities have urged the UK Government to take urgent action to establish safe routes to resettlement for Afghans seeking refuge, and for urgent humanitarian aid for people still in the country.

The calls came as US and UK forces pulled out of the country and the Taliban took control at the end of August, sparking a mass exodus of people.

Lord Wallace, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said: “The General Assembly has taken a keen interest in developments in Afghanistan since 2002 and it is with great sadness and horror that we are watching this humanitarian crisis unfold.

“We stand in prayer and solidarity with all those who fear oppression and violence which puts the lives of millions of people at risk and displaces thousands.

“The Bible makes it clear that we must care for and support those who are oppressed and seeking sanctuary. We urge the UK Government to take immediately all possible action to protect those lives and the dignity of endangered Afghan people.

“Earlier this year, the General Assembly passed a deliverance calling for the development of safe and legal routes for people desperately seeking sanctuary so that they can travel, live, work and contribute to our society.

“We urge the UK Government to establish an extended resettlement programme and end attempts to return people who have been refused asylum to Afghanistan. We must allow more people to make use of family reunion rights so they can join their relatives who have settled in the UK.

“The government should also ensure that Afghans will not be penalised for seeking refuge in the UK via ‘irregular routes’, which is being proposed under the Nationality and Borders Bill.”

Christian Aid said it was already supporting thousands of internally displaced people in Afghanistan, where famine is likely.

Subrata De, Christian Aid’s country manager in Afghanistan, said: “The situation is dire and more support will be required for poor and marginalised communities in the coming days. Christian Aid has been working in Afghanistan for 30 years and we will not desert now. We’re doing all we can to continue distributions of food and emergency supplies to the most affected communities. We hope that humanitarian access will remain, especially access to women and girls in the communities as we are very concerned about their safety.

“As an Indian national, I have been lucky enough to evacuate safely but our staff, their families and the thousands of people we support, are living with uncertainty and insecurity.”

Fionna Smyth, head of global advocacy & policy at Christian Aid, said: “We urge the UK Government to take action on four key areas; to work closely with the United Nations and wider donor community, to ensure that humanitarian assistance is provided to those most in need in the face of a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis, to immediately suspend all deportations from the UK of Afghan asylum seekers and refugees and open safe and legal routes for those fearing persecution.

“The UK government should use its influence to encourage and support neighbouring states including with funding to allow refugees to flee without fear of being sent back; and finally, to do everything in its power to protect Afghan women, including human rights defenders, and civil society actors who have been encouraged to take leadership positions and who are now at grave risk.

“The impact of decades of conflict and displacement has recently been compounded by increasing climate shocks, rising food insecurity and Covid-19, which has left almost half of Afghanistan’s population in need of emergency humanitarian assistance.” ¤

To donate to the hunger appeal, visit www. christianaid.org.uk/appeals/emergencies/ global-hunger-emergency-appeal

Tearfund has also launched an emergency appeal for Afghanistan, saying that around 390,000 people had ‘run for their lives with little more than the clothes on their backs’. You can support the appeal at www.tearfund.org/ campaigns/afghanistan-emergency-appeal