WARWICK SMITH/Things
Ellen Nelson worked for months to bring more than 500 Afghan evacuees to New Zealand.
More than 500 Afghan evacuees have new hopes for the future in New Zealand after months of uncertainty and hiding in their homeland.
Manawatū woman Ellen Nelson, a former Defense Force engineer, worked for 10 months to get more than 40 of her former colleagues and their families – 563 people – out of Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August†
The people have now been resettled in New Zealand, but they were in danger from the Taliban because they had… worked with the New Zealand Defense Force†
Nelson has advocated getting them to New Zealand, working with Chris Parsons of Christchurch, a former SAS officer who served as deputy chief of the New Zealand Army, and Lieutenant Colonel Martin Dransfield of Wellington.
READ MORE:
† Government appoints special representative for Afghanistan as more evacuees reach New Zealand
† New Zealand sends Afghanistan ‘special representative’ to Middle East
† Afghanistan: 375 New Zealanders, visa holders stranded as government considers ‘second phase’ of evacuation efforts
ARWICK SMITH/STUFF
Former NZ Army officer Ellen Nelson is lobbying the government on behalf of families who have assisted New Zealand defense forces in Afghanistan and have been living in fear since the Taliban takeover. (Video first published in October 2021)
All 563 people gathered in Auckland last weekend and when Nelson walked into the event she was overwhelmed with emotion.
“Most of the people in the room were children,” she told me stuff† “They would go to school and grow up in New Zealand as Kiwi children.
“Seeing them, especially little girls, really gave me a sense of hope for what their future has in store for them in New Zealand. It is radically different from what awaited them in Afghanistan, where they were not allowed to receive any training.
“Some of them faced the prospect of being forced to marry Taliban soldiers. That would be their life.
“Now they will go to school, they will study if they want to, they will have careers if they want, get married and have children with people if they want to. It was unbelievable.”
Nelson spent 30 to 40 hours a week on the project.
She filed visa applications for the evacuees, “compiling documents from people who are on the other side of the world, don’t speak English, don’t have internet access, were in hiding”.
“It has been without a doubt the most challenging, emotionally draining and difficult task I have faced in my life.”
ROB EDWARDS/delivered
Some of the children evacuated from Afghanistan show their appreciation for the work Ellen Nelson has done to get them out of Afghanistan.
There were times when she didn’t know how it would end, but she couldn’t run away from it.
“I would never have forgiven myself if one of those people died and I thought maybe I could have done more. I have promised that I will do everything in my power and beyond to help these people.”
They all had visas in September, but there was no clear path to get them out of Afghanistan.
But then Parsons and Dransfield got in touch with her and made connections. Then they worked with the government to get the people out.
Nelson said it was tough because it was in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was a Taliban-controlled country and there were no New Zealanders on the ground.
“The fact that we got each of the 563 out is a miracle.”
ROB EDWARDS/delivered
Ellen Nelson, center, with a group of evacuees from Afghanistan.
The evacuees gradually and legally left Afghanistan for another country, which Nelson could not disclose for security reasons, before flying to New Zealand.
Donations were collected to cover travel, accommodation and food costs.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade acknowledged the work of Nelson and her team helping the evacuees to New Zealand.
The government has helped 1,700 people travel from Afghanistan to New Zealand since the Taliban takeover.
Nicola Hogg, general manager of New Zealand Border and Visa Operations, said the government has established a humanitarian residence category for arrivals from Afghanistan and more than 960 visas have been issued since July 4.