A Letter from the S--- Family
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Afghans in Pakistan
18 min read
The article centers on an Afghan family's refugee experience in Pakistan awaiting Canadian resettlement. This Wikipedia article provides essential historical and political context about the millions of Afghans in Pakistan, their legal status, deportation threats, and the complex Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship that shapes their precarious situation.
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Tajiks
13 min read
The letter writer explicitly identifies as 'a Tajik of Afghanistan' and contrasts Tajik identity with Pashtuns, whom he describes as more religious and dangerous. Understanding Tajik ethnic identity, their historical relationship with Pashtuns, and their position in Afghan society provides crucial context for the family's perspective and fears.
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
10 min read
The article discusses IRCC processing times, the Canadian immigration bureaucracy, and recent announcements about staff increases in Islamabad. Understanding how this federal department operates, its refugee resettlement programs, and its bureaucratic processes illuminates why the family faces such prolonged uncertainty.
If you’re new to the Cosmopolitan Globalist, this video explains the background to this story. For readers who know it already, skip down:
Here’s the full story:
Good News from Islamabad, February 2023 (If you only read one entry, read this one.)
Update, April 2025 (This is the most recent entry.)
They’re still in Islamabad, and they’re still waiting for the word from the Canadian government that their visas have been approved and their travel has been booked. They’ve been through every stage of this process, except for the last: the final approval and issuance of visas.
JIAS—their sponsorship agreement holder— warned us that this wait is often very long and very taxing, emotionally. They weren’t wrong. The most difficult thing is that we just don’t know what’s happening or how much longer it will take. They could be notified tomorrow that they’re flying to Canada in a week’s time, or it could take many more months.
According to the Canadian government’s website, processing times depend on:
the number of applications to be reviewed (we don’t know, but we’re sure it’s a lot)
the number of refugees we can welcome in a given year (see the Immigration Levels Plan) (the link takes us to a page that’s out of date)
the security situation in the area where the refugee is living prior to resettlement (not great)
our ability to communicate with the refugee (excellent)
how long it takes to complete the medical exam and security screening (done)
the refugee’s family profile (family size and age of family members may impact processing time of security screening and medical exams) (it’s a big family)
whether dependents are added to the application during processing (no)
whether the refugee needs an exit permit to leave the country they are in (no)
other barriers that cannot be controlled or anticipated (?)
In other words: We don’t know.
Our uncertainty deepened when we heard the appalling news that an Afghan national had murdered two National Guards in Washington. M— , the son, sent me this message after the attack.1 (I’ve published this before, but you may have missed it.)
This
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