Serving Afghan Refugees 1 year after Kabul attack
Dear Supporters,
Along with the global community, UNITED SIKHS marked a somber one year anniversary of the March 25th terrorist attack on Sikhs in Kabul, Afghanistan. As militants and suicide bombers laid seige on Gurdwara Har Rai Sahib, twenty five members of the Sikh community including children and women were butchered to death.
Our international emergency response teams were deployed immediately to offer support to impacted victims and families. Getting the surviving families to safety under repeated assaults from terrorism was the number one priority. As part of this critical mission we worked with the local Sikh community to get paperwork in order to process passport applications for 87 families. Close to 400 passports were successfully acquired in the first phase of this mission.
In conversation with Chaibul Singh who lost his friend & uncle in the last year’s terrorist attack in Kabul.
Working with the Indian authorities and a few sewadars in the global Sikh community, we were able to get all of these families migrated to safety in New Delhi, India over the coming months. UNITED SIKHS India Team established a 24/7 Helpdesk service (+91 98107 90373) for displaced Afghanistan minority communities (Hindus and Sikhs).
“To even get medical treatment, they require money and some ID proof. We have helped them get passports and also provided them free medical assistance through the Delhi government. The next step is to seek assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees, the process for which is under way,” Parvinder Singh Nanda, UNITED SIKHS Director with Outlook India magazine.
As we mark this somber moment the goal of the Afghan refugee help desk is to take care of the medical and long term settlement needs of refugee families. We have been able to offer the following services.
- Medical Treatment including special tests as needed.
- Urgent assistance with the needs of pregnant mothers in government hospitals and life sustaining needs of newborn babies including immunizations.
- Emergency medical procedures.
- Facilitation for UNHCR related issues (issuance of Refugee Card, renewal of the cards for previously Afghan nationals residing in New Delhi).
- Ration distribution to the needy Afghan Families.
- COVID-19 Rapid tests.
- Assistance in temporary settlement of Afghan Families in India.
Family of young ManSimran Singh who required weeks of emergency medical care late last year and is doing very well now.
Our team member with family we helped with childbirth related medical services.
In addition we are also providing assistance with rental costs, utility bills and monthly rations to 11 families sponsored by UNITED SIKHS.
As we help with creating a safe space for these families in India, we are working with the UNHRC, The US State Department, NGOs in the United States, Canada and retained expert consultants to advocate for immigration pathways for a permanent safe and healthy future for these families.
We want to extend our gratitude to DSGMC President & Committee, Paramjit Singh Bedi, Dalip Singh Sethi, Vikramjit Singh Sawhney for their support of the urgent needs of Afghan refugees.
We also want to extend special thanks to leaders from the Afghan Sikh community, Pratap Singh, S. Surbeer Singh and late S. Khajinder Singh. To other members of the global sangat, our local teams, supporters and donors who have made this work possible we extend our heartfelt gratitude.
This work is not done as our Afghan brothers and sisters seek a place they can call home to settle in and lay the foundation for their coming generations.
For more Information on Afghan Sikhs : Click here
To watch full Interview of Afghan Sikh at Sikh 24
Gurvinder Singh
International Humanitarian Aid Director
UNITED SIKHS
Recognize the Human Race as One