By Alesha Capone
Afghan-Australian community members and refugee groups are urging the federal government to do all it can to help the people of Afghanistan.
Last week the Taliban captured the nation’s capital Kabul, 20 years after US forces removed them from power.
A representative of the Afghanistan-Australian community in Melbourne, Farzan Ibrahimi, said the Taliban has promised it will respect women’s rights and not seek revenge upon anyone who worked for the Coalition.
However Mr Ibrahimi, whose father was president of the Afghan Australian Association of Werribee, said there would likely be an increase in the number of people seeking to leave Afghanistan for humanitarian reasons.
“We have got many people here in the west who are worried because of the circumstances in Afghanistan,” Mr Ibrahimi said.
“Right now the majority of people in Afghanistan don’t know how the Taliban will deal with them.”
Mr Ibrahimi said it was important for governments across the world, including Australia, to use diplomacy to encourage the Taliban to be a responsible government.
“When we talk of liberty, we are not trying to impose western liberal values on them, but something acceptable to people in other Muslim countries such as Indonesia or in the Middle East such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar or Jordan,” he said.
The Settlement Council of Australia has urged the federal government to increase the number of humanitarian refugees available to people fleeing Afghanistan.
Chief executive Sandra Elhelw Wright said Australia should match offers by Canada and the United Kingdom to resettle 20,000 Afghan refugees.
