One year after NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, Germany has promised to take in 23,614 former Afghan local staff and family members. This is reported by “Welt am Sonntag”, citing information from the responsible Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
After that, 17,556 of them have already entered the country. The total number includes the local staff, such as civilian helpers for the Bundeswehr or interpreters: So far, 5,141 local staff have been accepted, 3,756 of them have entered the country so far.
In an international comparison, Germany is in a better position than other European countries. Because countries that are similarly involved in the NATO mission have offered fewer Afghans a new home. These include Great Britain and Italy. “To date, 10,100 people have been relocated to the UK,” the British embassy told the newspaper. The applicants, who worked for the armed forces, were admitted along with family members.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has so far approved “1,218 visas with limited territorial validity for Afghan nationals”. Another 278 entered the country as part of humanitarian corridors.
The foreign policy spokesman for the Union faction, Jürgen Hardt (CDU), told the newspaper: “Germany has so far taken in more Afghans than other NATO countries.” But that’s not enough for Green politicians. They are pushing for more generous and faster help.