Premier to meet with South Australian Afghans as they plead for government support for people trapped in Afghanistan

The Premier will meet Afghan community leaders on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan and offer assistance.

Premier Steven Marshall will meet Afghan community leaders on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan and offer state government assistance.

Declaring the situation “deeply distressing”, Mr Marshall implored Australian Defence Force members and veterans to remember that their service would always be appreciated and not forgotten.

He encouraged all South Australians to reach out and support “those in our community who have been impacted by this news”.

“The Government of South Australia stands shoulder to shoulder with all those affected by the Afghan conflict, especially the South Australian Afghani community and our veterans,” Mr Marshall said, in a statement.

“To our current serving and ex-serving ADF members – please know that your work and dedication to the mission in Afghanistan and the Middle East will always be appreciated and will not be forgotten.

“Likewise, to the families and communities that have and continue to support our serving and ex-serving members, your tireless support for your loved ones overseas has been and will continue to be admired by South Australians.”

The Taliban-overrun Afghan capital of Kabul has descended into chaos, as troops fly in to evacuate Australians, sparking a desperate plea from SA’s Afghan community.

Leaders met in Adelaide on Monday night, calling on governments to urgently increase humanitarian visas.

“There is no other place in the world more vulnerable and more in need of those visas than Afghanistan,” SA Afghan Association president Samandar Sediqi said.

Adelaide Strikers cham­pion Rashid Khan has also appealed for international help to stop the unfolding humanitarian crisis. “Don’t leave us in chaos,” he tweeted.

Afghans climb airport bridges, attempting to flee Kabul after the Taliban takeover. Picture: Nicola Careem

Mr Sediqi hoped Australia would follow Canada’s lead of accepting 20,000 vulnerable Afghans, including interpreters’ families still in the country.

Adelaide has a strong and vibrant Afghan community of about 2000 Hazara Afghans in the Port Adelaide-Enfield Council area alone and more than 6000 across the state.

“For the past two weeks, the whole community has been in grief and sorrow,” said Mr Sediqi, who served nine years as an interpreter for British forces in Helmand province.

“I would say 90-100 per cent would have family members in Afghanistan.”

With the Taliban taking control of banking networks, Afghan expatriates in Adelaide are no longer able to financially support family members back home.

The South Australian Afghan community holding a rally at Parliament on August 14. Picture: Simon Cross

Mr Sediqi said his mother and siblings lived in the Qarabagh district, about 40km north of Kabul, and were “in grief and can’t go outside” for fear of Taliban forces.

He said the Taliban was targeting families of anyone who previously assisted coalition forces, including the Australian Defence Force, in roles such as interpreting.

Hanif Rahimi, an Afghan expat and manager of the popular Blair Athol IGA, labelled the situation in his home country “shocking”.

“My heart is burning that people are suffering and dying … you cannot imagine,” he said. “(The Taliban) are king of the road, king of the city, king of the street.

“They can do anything they want and kill anybody.”

Taliban fighters in Afghanistan captured many capital cities in the past month, culminating in Kabul this week. Picture: AFP

Mr Rahimi, 52, said while he had no immediate family living in Afghanistan, there were a large number of friends and cousins. He said he feared Taliban control, saying the country would be a “disaster” if similar rule happened like the 1990s.

“They destroyed the right for women, the right for freedom of speech. Everything was destroyed with nothing left over,” Mr Rahimi said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not yet revealed any plans to increase the number of humanitarian visas.

Adelaide Striker Rashid Khan at Adelaide Oval in January. He has called for support for his home country Afghanistan. Picture: Morgan Sette

“We have over 130 Australians in Afghanistan, working in the UN, NGOs and elsewhere, and we are working to bring them and their families home,” he said.

“We are also assisting those who have been granted humanitarian visas and others who are in the process of applying for protection.”

Khan, one of the best T20 players in the world who has become a favourite with Strikers fans, took to social media to call for support for his war-torn country.

He has started a Rashid Khan Fund to raise money.

“The ongoing war in Afghanistan has led to a humanitarian crisis. Please support @RashidKhanFund – an emergency online fundraiser to provide basic essentials to those affected by the conflict,’’ he tweeted.

In another tweet, he said: “Dear World Leaders! My country is in chaos, thousands of innocent people, including children and women, get martyred everyday, houses and properties being destructed.

“Thousands of families displaced. Don’t leave us in chaos. Stop killing Afghans and destroying of Afghanistan. We want peace.’’

Originally published as Premier to meet with South Australian Afghans as they plead for government support for people trapped in Afghanistan