Canadian Afghans stranded in Kabul frantic for help from Canadian government

At 2 a.m. Friday, they got the word  — "get to the airport" — the signal they had been anxiously awaiting for days.

Canadian authorities were urging a group of 15 Canadian Afghan men, women and children, even a baby, to get to the entry gate at Kabul's airport in Afghanistan.

"We were told that when we get to the scene, there will be Canadian and American soldiers or guards who will escort us and ensure that we can actually enter the airport," Aleem said. "That did not happen."

Aleem is not his real name, and CBC News is protecting his identity out of safety concerns.

With their passports, permanent resident cards and small maple leaf flags, they assembled to make the dangerous drive through multiple Taliban checkpoints. They were not attacked and got to the entry gate at the airport, but in front of them was a scene of chaos, desperation and violence.

'We took all the risks'

Frantically waving the red and white flags and flashing their Canadian passports, at risk of exposing their identities to a desperate crowd, they tried to get the attention of the line of mostly American soldiers.

"We took all the risks just with the hope that our families would be able to call out and someone would say, 'Yes, you're Canadian, come forward.'"

Instead, the soldiers were shooting near the crowd and in the air, hoping to scatter the thousands of people crowding the entry.

"They were shooting at us, non-stop shooting. There were women, children trembling and shaking from the sound," Aleem said.

"The soldiers were just firing; they were overwhelmed with the crowd that was in front of them," he told CBC News. "This is a passage to death much less than a passage to safety and security."

Hundreds of Canadian Afghans stranded

Hundreds, or more, Canadian Afghans are trapped in Kabul — professionals with careers and jobs with international organizations, with long ties to Canada, who are now terrified that their lives are in danger after the Taliban took over the capital city a week ago. The militant group now has authority over most of the country.

In spite of early assurances by the Taliban that people who worked with countries who waged a 20-year war with the militant group would not be sought out and punished, multiple reports say Taliban fighters are going door to door in some neighbourhoods taking names and apprehending people and property.

Aleem's group is on a Canadian evacuation list, and they had hoped they would soon be safe inside the airport perimeter — joining thousands of others escaping the last harrowing week in Afghanistan when their worlds changed overnight.

A Canadian military aircraft took 188 people out of Kabul Thursday night, the first Canadian airlift since the Afghan government collapsed last Sunday, as the Taliban rode into the capital. 

"We have now two of our largest air carriers running back and forth from Kabul. We're going to keep those flights going for as long as possible," Canadian Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said on Friday.

In all, 8,000 to date have been safely evacuated by multiple countries since Sunday, according to NATO, but there is growing concern that Canada's evacuation effort has been slower than other countries.

PM says evacuation flights will continue

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, dogged by questions about Afghanistan during the first week of the federal election campaign, has admitted that not everyone who wants to or is eligible will get out, but he pledged again that evacuation flights will continue. 

"I can tell you that everyone is working incredibly hard day and night to try and get as many people out of Afghanistan to safety as possible," he said Friday on a campaign stop in Winnipeg. 

The United States rescued 169 people by helicopter from a hotel near the airport on Thursday when they couldn't reach an entry gate.

Trudeau did not answer when asked if Canadian authorities could collect people in the city and get them safely to the airport.

The prime minister has also harshly criticized the Taliban, who strictly control multiple checkpoints on routes to the airport. There have been reports of beatings and other violence as they try to turn back the flow of people determined to get out of the country.

While that has been a dangerous barrier for many, Aleem's group was able to pass by, only to get stranded right at the gate.

Advocates for Aleem in Canada have alerted top government officials in the prime minister's and foreign affairs minister's offices that he and his family are in danger and have appealed urgently for help. "It's not that they don't know what's happening," he said.

Federal election call frustrating

He is frustrated with the timing of an election campaign launched during an international crisis.

"I'm talking about Canada's sole responsibility to protect and secure its citizens. Where is that reality right now for 15 Canadian lives? How can I put that question to Justin Trudeau right now on the election campaign?" Aleem asked rhetorically. 

He added that "there is no guarantee that we will make it [out] alive, unless something is done urgently." 

The group turned back from the gate on Friday, worried they would be trampled or get injured or killed in the melee, then had to make the dangerous ride back into the city. They have left their homes and cannot go back, so they're staying together in an undisclosed location.

"We need a solution," Aleem said, pleading for a contact to help them.

They say they will try to get to the airport again. "We have no choice, our lives are at risk where we are right now — and the more we delay, the more the consequences will be dire for the Canadians."