Canadian Armed Forces veteran David Lavery worked to get at least 100 Afghans through the chaos of the Kabul airport to safety.Supplied
David Lavery, a former Canadian soldier well known for helping Afghans flee to Canada, has been released by the Taliban and has arrived in Doha after nearly three months of detention in Afghanistan.
Mr. Lavery, known as “Canadian Dave,” was in the country working for the Veterans Transition Network, a national charity based in Vancouver, and the Canadian government, assisting in the evacuation of Afghans who had supported the Canadian Forces and were vulnerable to Taliban reprisals.
The Canadian Forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2014, but maintained an embassy there until August, 2021, hours before the Taliban swept to power after a chaotic withdrawal of Western troops. As the U.S. prepared to leave Afghanistan at that time, the Canadian government was urged to provide passage to Canada for Afghans who aided its work in the country.
The VTN confirmed Mr. Lavery’s release on Jan. 26, issuing a lengthy statement that said it is “relieved and overjoyed,” and which also detailed Mr. Lavery’s background, history with VTN, disappearance and release.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly wrote in a statement on X that she’d spoken with Mr. Lavery “upon his safe arrival in Qatar from Afghanistan.
“He is in good spirits,” Ms. Joly wrote, thanking her Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, for his assistance in Mr. Lavery’s release.
VTN said that the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence detained Mr. Lavery on Nov. 11, after he arrived at the Kabul airport that morning. It’s unclear why.
The charity said that he had travelled there on behalf of VTN and the Canadian government to provide “direct support to Afghan allies.” The GDI, they said, held him for more than two months.
He planned to lay a Remembrance Day wreath at Afghanistan’s Canadian Memorial at the Sherpur Cantonment in Kabul, the statement said.
As the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan neared, the Taliban made sweeping gains across the country before taking control of Kabul on Aug. 15, 2021.
In July, 2021, as it became clear that the Afghans who aided the Canadian government needed urgent help because they were at risk of reprisals, Ottawa announced a special immigration program for those who had supported its military and diplomatic missions. It also created a humanitarian program for Afghans particularly vulnerable to Taliban persecution, such as human-rights activists and LGBTQ people, and launched a program for relatives of former interpreters who had come to Canada under previous policies.
The government committed to bringing at least 40,000 Afghans to Canada. Since August, 2021, 55,195 people have arrived, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
The Canadian government needed help moving Afghans out of the country under these programs and relied on groups such as VTN to undertake that work.
VTN said that since August, 2021, Mr. Lavery has made multiple trips to Afghanistan to help Afghans approved for Canadian settlement to evacuate the country, saying he did this work on behalf of their organization and the Canadian government.
Mr. Lavery had experience supporting Afghans. In the chaos of the Taliban takeover that summer, he and his team remained in the country, moving Afghans to safehouses and inside the Kabul airport, VTN said. He stayed at the airport and continued helping people until Aug. 26, 2021. According to VTN, Mr. Lavery was assisting Afghans at the airport until Aug. 26, when he and his wife boarded one of the final German evacuation flights, departing as “an Islamic State Khorasan suicide bombing attack targeted Afghan civilians waiting to enter the Kabul airport.”
Since then, the group said, Mr. Lavery has continued working with it to support Afghan allies trying to flee Taliban rule.
VTN said that from July, 2021, to March, 2023, this work in Afghanistan was backed by Canadian public donations amounting to $4.7-million. The organization said that in March, 2023, Canada’s immigration department started funding VTN and Mr. Lavery’s evacuation efforts in Afghanistan.
Tim Laidler, the organization’s Afghan support director, said Sunday that the past 10 weeks have been “a roller coaster of emotions for everyone involved, especially as we have had to navigate an incredibly complex situation while avoiding publicity.”
“We are incredibly thankful to everyone who helped formally and informally to bring home Canadian Dave – especially the Government of Qatar and our friends in Doha.”
VTN board chair Gavin Dew called Mr. Lavery “a Canadian hero” and said their team is proud to be part of his story, “which reflects the selflessness and sacrifice of those who serve with our flag on their shoulder.”
Mr. Lavery runs a private company called Raven Rae Consultancy Services, which focuses on humanitarian aid, life support, and safety and security management for government and non-governmental groups, according to its website. It was headquartered in Kabul for 10 years, but after the Taliban takeover, Mr. Lavery relocated the company to Dubai.
Previously, he served in the Canadian Armed Forces, and after retiring, he worked as a senior security adviser for the United Nations.
With a report by Robert Fife in Ottawa