Drongonia to accept up to 5,000 LGBT refugees from Afghanistan following Taliban takeover
Christchurch, Drongonia
August 25, 2021 | Amy Basinger
Despite strong opposition from People's Front as well as the conservative faction of the ruling National Party, Parliament has passed a resolution to allow up to 5,000 at-risk Afghanistani refugees to resettle in Drongonia over the next five years in an unprecedented shakeup of the nation's refugee quota.
Presently, just 250 refugees are accepted into Drongonia per year. This number was previously as high as 5000, but was drastically reduced when Prime Minister English and the National Party came to power in 2017. Additionally, the Ministry of Immigration recently reported that just 12% of all refugees allowed entry into Drongonia since 2018 are from the "Middle East and North Africa" geographic area, with the vast majority being White South African farmers. Additionally, the intake of refugees has been halted by the Government, citing COVID-related concerns.
This, however, is set to change under the new Labour-proposed plan which passed its third reading in Parliament today. The radical plan would raise the refugee quota to 1,500 per year for the next five years, with 1,000 of those refugees being from Afghanistan. The plan also includes rules designed to specifically cater to those most at risk of oppression from the Taliban. Particular at-risk groups mentioned in the new plan are "outspoken women", "anti-Taliban activists", "any individuals who assisted Western nations during the Afghanistan campaign" and "LGBTQ+ individuals". The plan, officially titled as the Refugee Resettlement Bill 2021, passed its third Parliamentary reading 64-56, with its passage owing to several National MPs "going rogue" to vote in favour of the Bill.
Labour leader Sarah Ellice appeared elated as she talked to media outside Parliament today, proclaiming that the passage of this legislation "is a massive win for human rights in both Afghanistan and Drongonia, particularly for vulnerable women and LGBTQ+ people who are being denied the basic right to be who they are." Prime Minister Bill English, who voted against the plan, said in a statement that he was "...shocked and disappointment that my colleagues in the House would vote for legislation designed to completely unwind integral parts of our immigration and security reforms."
Critics of the plan have been quick to highlight that there are no specific provisions pertaining to how the Drongonian Government will receive refugees from Afghanistan, as it is unlikely that the governing Taliban will allow the potential refugees to peacefully leave the country of their own accord, even to board diplomatic flights. Additionally, the shared South Pacific Embassy, where Drongonia's diplomats were located, was evacuated shortly after the US began its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan a fortnight ago.
The shared South Pacific Embassy housed diplomats from Drongonia, Cancolastan, Norcott, New Zealand, Australia and Aushweizland but has been abandoned. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not responded to an Official Information Act request from TVDG regarding the potential financial and security costs of equipment and intelligence information left behind during the evacuation. Additionally, the Ministry did not respond to a request for comment regarding the possibility of further emergency evacuations in Afghanistan.
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