THE Catholic Bishops Conference (CBC) of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands is calling for solidarity and resettlement of all Afghan refugees who still remain in PNG and around the Asia Pacific region.
There are about 20 Afghan refugees in Papua New Guinea, most of whom have left behind family members when they departed in 2013. These refugees in the country are oath protected under the Regional resettlement Arrangement (RRA) Program between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Approximately 19 of these refugees are in Port Moresby and one is in Manus province, these refugees need our support, both in kind and in prayers as they think about the lives and freedoms of those they left back in Afghanistan.
“It has been three weeks now since we last heard from our families back in Afghanistan, we couldn’t contact them because the Taliban have taken down all the communication towers,” Afghan refugee spokesperson, Zabiulla said.
Zabiulla raised a concern saying, they have been in the country for 20 years yet there have been nothing done by the Australian and PNG government to grant them permanent residence in the country, or to help them assist their families back home to reunite with them.
He added, “it is not the PNG government’s problem, because it was the Australian government who brought us here in the first place”.
All the refugees are male and right now their concern is about how they will bring their families to safety.
Chief Migration Officer, Stanis Hulahau said the current situation is distressful and complex.
“We (PNG) do not have a well-established humanitarian program to deal with this problem,” Mr. Hulahau said.
He added that there will be a refugee status determination steering committee put in place in the coming weeks and with the support from churches, they will help find solutions to cater for the refugees and their families.
Mr. Hulahau said that a submission will also be made to the cabinet so that proper visas can be given to the 20 refugees in the country to enable them to live a normal life and also help their families.