Catalonia Offers to Welcome as Many Afghan Refugees as Necessary

The Catalan pro-independence government has offered to receive as many Afghan refugees as needed. In an interview for ACN, Catalan president Pere Aragonès said that Catalonia is open to help with the “humanitarian emergency” caused in Afghanistan and assume its international obligations: “We have a humanitarian obligation regarding the situation in Afghanistan. We must prepare because there will be a wave of exiles and a need to offer asylum and refuge to hundreds of thousands of people. Catalonia will always be a land of welcome and freedom.”

The President also urged the Spanish government to speed up all procedures to recognize the right of refugees to seek asylum in Catalonia. “Spain must put a lot of resources” into defending the right for international protection,” he added.

The Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Victòria Alsina, also sent a letter to the Spanish authorities urging them to issue humanitarian visas for Afghans in danger.

“Welcoming those who fled their country because their lives are at risk is not an option, it is an international obligation,” a part of the letter reads.

Tania Verge, Minister for Equality and Feminism: “The EU and Spain must comply with the obligation to provide international protection to refugees from Afghanistan. We will continue to have humanitarian crises until we understand that to have peace, it must be built.”

Laura Borràs, Speaker of the Catalan Parliament: “I call on international organizations such as the European Union and the United Nations to act decisively in defense of the Afghan citizens who are victims of this war and, in an even more resolute way, not to forget Afghan women.”