Afghan Asylum Seeker Denied Refuge in Kazakhstan Finds Safety in Europe

A young Afghan woman who spent months trying to obtain refugee status in Kazakhstan has fled to Europe after her application was denied, Orda.kz reports, citing the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights (KIBHR).

The woman, referred to as Fatima (name changed), originally came to Kazakhstan to apply to KazNU but failed the exams. By then, her family members had already become refugees in neighboring countries. She faced threats from the Taliban for working with Western NGOs.

According to the KIBHR, the removal of the Taliban from Kazakhstan’s list of terrorist organizations has made it significantly harder for Afghan citizens to receive refugee status.

We officially believe that the Taliban has stopped persecuting people who collaborated with the previous government and Western organizations, as well as those engaged in journalistic activities,they told the KMBPCh.

Also, despite everything, Kazakhstan's Employment and Social Programs Coordination Department, responsible for processing refugee status applications, began sharing applicants' data with the Afghan Embassy in Kazakhstan. In Fatima's case, things were a little different: the official stated that Fatima's written justifications must be verified by the Kazakh Embassy in Afghanistan. Clearly, in this case, confirmation of their intention to punish or pardon the applicant would have to come from representatives of the new government, which remains illegal for most of the world, the bureau said.

Something seemingly impossible happened: an American intern at the bureau found a European organization that quickly engaged the authorities of her country. The bureau's lawyers prepared all the documentation and helped her through the interviews; the embassy of that country in Kazakhstan did everything necessary and even more, and within a few weeks Fatima was able to leave Kazakhstan, they told the KMBPCh.

Original Author: Igor Ulitin