Coalition members call for government to reunite Afghan families

June 28, 2022

A letter signed by coalition members was published in The Times on Saturday 25th June calling for the government to enable Afghan evacuees to reunite with their family members.

The letter was signed by:

• Enver Solomon, CEO, Refugee Council
• Mike Adamson, chief executive, British Red Cross
• Dr Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, chief executive, Oxfam GB
• Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive, Amnesty International UK
• Emily Crowley, chief executive, Student Action for Refugees
• Shah Mahmood Nasiri, VOICES Network
• Miriam Tansia, VOICES Network
• Beth Gardiner-Smith, chief executive, Safe Passage

The letter was also published online.

The letter read:

Sir,

The conflict in Ukraine (Boris Johnson urges allies: Hold your nerve for a long war in Ukraine) has forced millions of families to be torn apart. From Ukraine to Afghanistan, family separation is one of the cruellest aspects of any conflict. None of us will forget the scenes at Kabul airport last summer. Families were separated as they tried to leave the country.  

Ten months later, these families remain separated. This is despite the Government indicating, as long ago as September 2021, that family members would be eligible to join people who had been evacuated. Prolonged separation is distressing for families and can have a severe impact on mental health. We saw how the Government acted to bring Ukrainian families together through the Ukraine Family Scheme. They must now act with the same urgency to safely reunite Afghan evacuees with their loved ones.