RealityCheck
On December 19, 2022, the official admission order for the federal admission program Afghanistan was issued. We’re taking the half-year anniversary as an opportunity to give the federal government a little #RealityCheck. Because so far…
- … only a handful of acceptance letters have been issued through the program.
- … thousands of protection seekers are still waiting for safe departure.
- … the issuance of visas for Afghans was temporarily halted due to “security concerns”. These were motivated by a populist media campaign and appear to be almost entirely unfounded. After more than two and a half months, the procedures have still not been resumed!
As always, the people affected are those who seek protection and are at risk. We demand that the government address the reality of the people it has promised to take in. We demand that they…
- … resume visa procedures without delay.
- … assist all people who have been promised admission to leave the country safely.
- … provide fair access to the Federal Reception Program for all vulnerable and at-risk Afghans.
Together with our allies Medico International, the Lesbian and Gay Association, and Artists At Risk, here we tell the reality that refugees seeking protection from Afghanistan face.
We share the stories of those whose reality should matter.
Kabul Luftbrücke
And the waiting goes on
“During my time in Pakistan, I had only fears and worries. I didn’t know how things would go on, what the future would bring. Would I ever arrive in Germany? How long will I have to wait here?”
For the first time, she felt hopeful. Then came the admission stop.
“I was always the provider in our family. My children, my mother, my younger siblings depend on me financially, I earned for them too. Now the Taliban are forcing me to hide at home,” she describes. “I sometimes find it difficult to look my family in the eye, we are doing badly and I can hardly do anything.”
Attacked from two sides: Afghan prosecutors remain at risk
“I think judges and prosecutors are two groups at highest risk for their work implementing the rule of law… Taliban have tried to arrest me many times.”
We didn’t learn anything from the fall of Kabul
Sara has worked her whole career for a human rights organisation in Afghanistan, advocating for the rights of women and girls with disabilities in Afghanistan, supported by foreign organisations. Her neighbours told the Taliban of her work and the Taliban began to search for her.
medico international
Hunted by the Taliban because she fights for women’s right to education
She dreamed of an Afghanistan where girls and women have inalienable rights to education, to work freely and choose whether to marry, to political participation and representation. She dreamed of the liberation of Afghan women. Barely two years after the Taliban took power, this dream has given way to a totalitarian, misogynist dystopia.
Lesbian and Gay Association (LSVD)
Desperate cries for help from Afghan LGBTIQ*’s
“After the Taliban identified me and my partner, they hunted us and attacked our apartment. My friend and I only escaped from our apartment with difficulty. After the Taliban chased us, my partner and I were torn apart. The Taliban wounded my partner as we fled. We have been constantly on the run in Afghanistan ever since. The Taliban are searching for us.”
Artists at Risk
His only crime was to be an artist and play his music.
“Music was my only source of income, and it was the only job I knew for supporting myself and my family. But with the arrival of the Taliban, not only has this opportunity been taken away from me, but even continuing this art can come at the cost of my life, as it took the life of my eldest son.”
Reality Check is campaign created by @kabulluftbruecke, @medicointernational, @lsvdbundesverband and @artistsatrisk.
You are interested in our work and want to support? Visit our websites, follow our social media accounts and spread the message!
#RealityCheck
#dontforgetafghanistan
#aufnahmejetzt
