How it started
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) started this year’s withdrawal from the region in August and Taliban insurgents took control of the Afghan capital Kabul on 15 August 2021.
Immediately after that, chaos settled in the area, especially at Kabul airport, where thousands of people were trying to board the last planes that could still evacuate the citizens of the foreign forces or the Afghans who worked with them.
On 16 August 2021, having an intuition on the effects on their Afghan colleagues, through great efforts, the Romanian Judges’ Forum Association managed to contact an Afghan judge in order to provide them with humanitarian assistance. In this context, Ms. Tayeba Parsa, judge at the Kabul Court of Appeal, offered the first SOS interview, which was immediately taken over by the international press and became the catalyst for humanitarian action.
The situation was dramatic: “For the Taliban, the mere fact of being a judge of the Afghan state is a sufficient reason for him to be killed without any prior judicial trial. Recently, last week, two male judges were killed by the Taliban when the Taliban discovered that they were both judges. But for women judge the danger is much greater. The Taliban believe that the rules of Islam prohibit women from being a judge.
Extraction from Afghanistan
Immediately, the Romanian Judges’ Forum Association and the Association Initiative for Justice issued a press release to the Romanian authorities: “We are fully in solidarity with colleagues in Afghanistan. We call on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to grant visas in electronic format immediately to all Afghan judges and prosecutors whose lives are endangered” (16 August 2021).
Another call for the inclusion of Afghan magistrates, and in particular women magistrates, in the categories of people to be evacuated from Afghanistan and received into the European Union was launched on 17 August 2021.
In a few days, through the joint efforts of the associations of magistrates from Romania and the association of lawyers from Poland, with the rapid involvement of the authorities from there, several Afghan magistrates and their families arrived in Poland. Among them was Judge Tayeba Parsa, who continued efforts to rescue other colleagues in danger.
Since saving a life in danger is an essential task, any effort in this regard must be supported and appreciated, cooperation with the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) should also be mentioned in this regard.
As a result of the steps taken, according to a press release issued by the Romanian Judges Forum Association and the Association Initiative for Justice, on 4 September 2021, a number of 6 judges and an auxiliary of justice, as well as their families, all Afghan citizens, were evacuated through the constant effort and support of the crisis cell within the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which carried out the necessary procedures to bring their colleagues under the protection of the Romanian state.
Romanian magistrates have always been in contact with the Romanian authorities and Afghan colleagues, whose courage was fantastic, making great sacrifices and facing major dangers in order to reach the Romanian Embassy in Islamabad through the poor means at their disposal in Pakistan.
Obtaining refugee status
For about three months, Afghan citizens were accommodated in the Regional Centre for Procedures and Accommodation for Asylum Applicants in Galati, where they received the direct support of fellow magistrates from Dobrogea and Moldova (with the involvement, in particular, of the Galati Court of Appeal) and a humanitarian campaign was launched to support all Afghan citizens in the centre.
As a result of receiving the refugee status, Afghan magistrates and their families enjoy the rights provided for in Law No 122/2006 on asylum in Romania, including the right to reside in Romania, the right to be employed or to be self-employed, the right of minor children to have access to compulsory school education under the same conditions as juvenils who are Romanian citizens.
In the light of constant information on the persecutions of the Taliban regime, the Romanian Judges Forum Association, the Association of the Movement for Defence of the Status of Prosecutors and the Justice Initiative Association, continued the work to rescue Afghan judges and prosecutors whose lives are endangered.
Relocation to Bucharest
As a result of the large flow of people staying in Galati Centre, in order to ensure the best possible living conditions and real chances of integration, on 15 November 2021, the Romanian Judges Forum Association and the Association Initiative for Justice obtained the support of the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, which concluded a Commodity Agreement, providing 17 rooms located in a student home, as a free use (excluding utilities), until September 25, 2022, in order to accommodate Afghan refugees.
Similar steps are ongoing in relation to the “Lower Danube” University of Galati.
Another protocol was concluded by the Romanian Judges Forum Association and the Association Initiative for Justice on 24 november 2021 with the Association “Your Chance” for ensuring a warm meal per day (except weekends and days with prohibited food), delivered to the beneficiaries by the “Life and Light” Association.
A home, literally and figuratively
The trip from Galati to Bucharest was a new moment when Afghan magistrates and their families took an important step towards their integration.
The rooms made available to them have their own bathroom, adequate hygiene conditions, being specially prepared and equipped with cleaning materials, refrigerators and food heating appliances.
Also, at the level of the floor, a small space for preparing and serving meals was created, with further steps being taken to improve the conditions.
For this support special thanks are to be given to the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, and for the donation in various home appliances to Rotaract Club Bucharest.
Very important were also the financial contributions of magistrates, lawyers and other professional categories, which made it possible to cover the costs of transport, food, the purchase of personal items, etc.
Efforts needed to adapt and integrate
This group of 46 people includes 7 children from 1 to 5 years of age, 10 children from 6 to 8 years, 15 adults aged 19 to 29 and the rest (up to 46 persons) are adults over 30 years of age. The needs, desires, expectations and aspirations are as different as the composition of the small community, but they have continuously shown adaptability and solidarity.
For the integration programme, deployed through the General Inspectorate for Immigration, Afghan citizens were linked to the International Organisation for Migration.
They will benefit from information, consultancy, educational activities, including Romanian language courses. The support of any public institution or non-governmental organisation, but also of individuals who are available to do so, remains necessary.
The priorities are to include in their age-appropriate forms of education (from pre-school to university) and to engage adults in areas appropriate to their specialisation or skills, which is why we call on employment agencies and employers to provide their support.
Healthcare
Although emergency hospital care, in imminent life-threatening cases, is easier to provide (through the national system of qualified emergency and first aid care), in terms of primary care and the right to receive appropriate treatment, the support of family doctors in an easily accessible area at the location of the “Regie” Student Homes, also taking into account the need to communicate in a language of international circulation, is still needed.
The near future
The desire of Afghan refugees is to integrate, pursue qualification courses, university studies and be able to ensure their existence independently so that they can start a new life. They had to leave their country and abandon their goods, profession, even relatives and friends, but not ideals.
Persons who wish to provide further support are invited to continue donating to the account opened by the Association Initiative for Justice — BCR account lei: RO52RNCB0203162579230005.
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