An organization advocating for LGBTQI+ refugees says a formal partnership with the Canadian government would immediately help evacuate 300 Afghan refugees who are “flight-ready” but “stuck” in neighbouring countries. But so far, the government’s response has been vague and unclear, says Devon Matthews, director of programs at Rainbow Railroad, a global nonprofit organization that helps LGBTQI+ refugees reach safety, including through emergency relocation. “We’re certainly in communication with them. But what we’re looking for is a really solid and affirmative ‘Yes’ to the ask that we have so that we can continue the work that we’re doing – and that, we haven’t received yet,” she told NCM. The ask, Matthews explains, is quite simple. Through their Safe Way Out campaign, the organization is taking care of all the legwork: identifying, verifying and triaging cases, as well as supporting refugees while their paperwork is finalized. At this time, they are not asking for any funds. “We really just need the pathway and the mechanism and the commitment from the Canadian government to allow them entry into Canada and provide them with resettlement options once they’re here,” she says. Asked about whether it would commit to the partnership, a spokesperson from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said “Rainbow Railroad is not a referral partner at this time.” When pressed about the 300 Afghans Matthews says are flight-ready, spokesperson Aidan Strickland noted that “there are obstacles facing us in Afghanistan that were not present in other large-scale resettlement efforts” which are “posing significant challenges to chartering flights,” including the recent floods in Pakistan. “In addition, each country sets its own entry and exit requirements and determines when and if these requirements are changed,” Strickland wrote. “The absence of stable conditions and ever-changing circumstances around exit documentation requirements impacts our ability to move people quickly,” Strickland continued “For each person and family wanting to travel, we must consider whether they have the right documents and the ability to do so. We continue to work individually with each person and group to verify they have the necessary documents, and cooperate with authorities in neighbouring countries to facilitate safe passage and onwards travel to Canada.” Strickland says the department has also “added more employees and resources” in Pakistan, and is “processing applications as quickly as possible both remotely and digitally through our network of global visa officers.” Canada has so far welcomed 14 chartered flights with Afghan refugees from Pakistan since the start of the year and more than 19,000 Afghan refugees since the Taliban take-over a year ago. To date, Rainbow Railroad has helped evacuate more than 250 LGBTQI+ Afghans, though Matthews says as of Sept. 15, 5,547 have contacted them asking for assistance. The 300 who are “ready to fly” are people who have managed to leave Afghanistan and are currently in neighbouring Turkey, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. But because these countries’ also criminalize same-sex relations, they remain “unsafe…and in need of long-term protection options,” Matthews says. “You continue to be at risk – just by different people in a different context,” she says. “So there’s nowhere to run.” Abuse can take the form of not being given fair treatment by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (which first refers refugees to Canada); or even being blocked from accessing safe housing or encampment options, Matthews explains. A January report from Human Rights Watch found that LGBTQI+ Afghans who are ccurrently in neighbouring countries also run the risk of facing the death penalty, such as in Iran. Additionally, they can be sent back to face abuse at the hands of the Taliban as many “are on expired or short-term visas or arrived without visas, have no realistic prospect of extending their stays legally, and cannot settle permanently where they are,” the report states. While recognizing that all refugees face “dire straits,” Matthews says LGBTQI+ members are at “triple-risk because they’re a member of multiple oppressed communities who are in need of specialized and understanding support.” Even before the Taliban, LGBTQI+ Afghans were often ostracized by their families and community.