By TOI Staff - January 18, 2022
A group of Afghan refugees, rescued by Israel-based humanitarian group IsraAID in October, finally got the chance to meet their rescuers on Monday as they prepared to begin the process of resettlement in Canada.
The group were among the 2,221,828 Afghan refugees registered in Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan by the end of 2021 following the Taliban’s violent takeover of Afghanistan in August after US forces withdrew from the country.
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, Afghans now make up one of the largest refugee populations in the world.
The 87 refugees currently residing in Albania are part of a larger group that was rescued from Afghanistan in October in an effort led by IsraAID together with a number of activists, leaders, and donors, including Israeli-Canadian philanthropist Sylvan Adams.
Among them are judges, journalists, TV personalities, cyclists, human rights activists, family members of Afghan diplomats, artists, law enforcement officers and scientists.
Read More: Times of Israel