Call for Aussies to welcome Afghan refugees fleeing Taliban

The man in charge of resettling Afghan refugees has called on Australians to wrap their arms around them as their level of need is “extreme”.

A resettlement expert charged with co-ordinating Australia’s intake of Afghan refugees says their level of need is extreme.

Paris Aristotle said life was very tough for Afghan nationals fleeing the Taliban, many of whom were desperate about leaving family behind.

“The trauma will be very raw,” he told SBS on Monday.

Mr Aristotle called on Australians to welcome the new arrivals with open arms.

“The Australian people can wrap their arms around these people, let them know that we want them to be here, that we’re glad that they’re here, that we’re going to care for them and take care of them,” he said.

Humanitarian resettlement expert Paris Aristotle says the need of new Afghan arrivals is “extreme”. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

The Australian government has committed 3000 places out of its existing humanitarian visa program to resettle Afghans refugees after the Taliban takeover.

The former Afghan government and its capital city Kabul fell to the militant group earlier this month, sparking a fortnight of violence and unrest.

Australia’s evacuation mission came to an end late last week, with the military departing Kabul hours before two bomb blasts killed more than 150 people including US troops and Afghan civilians.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in its nine-day rescue mission Australian troops had evacuated 4100 people from “one of the most dangerous places on Earth”.

It is not known exactly how many Australian citizens and Afghan visa holders were left in Afghanistan.

Evacuees from Kabul sit inside a military aircraft as they arrive at Tashkent Airport in Uzbekistan last week. Picture: Handout/Bundeswehr via Getty Images

Mr Aristotle warned that some vulnerable people were being taken advantage of in their desperation to escape.

“People are offering to fill out applications for $8000 and they would guarantee a Visa. In one case I heard $15,000. It doesn’t cost anything like that,” he said.

Mr Aristotle, who was in charge of Australia’s resettlement of 12,000 Syrian refugees at the height of the civil war there, has been appointed co-chair of the new Advisory Panel on Australia’s Resettlement of Afghan Nationals.