Concerns about the fate of the UK’s former Afghan interpreters have been raised on the third anniversary of the British withdrawal from Kabul (Picture: © Andy Barnham 2022)
Former Afghan interpreters who have been relocated to the UK face a ‘postcode lottery’ as they try to integrate into society, campaigners say.
They are also having to watch as relatives left behind suffer ‘heartbreaking’ threats, kidnapping and extortion at the hands of the vengeful Taliban, according to advocates for the families.
Some of the former employees are said to have spent years ‘in limbo’ as they are moved between temporary accommodation around the UK, despite being ‘desperate’ to start new lives.
The troubling picture is given three years to the day of the UK’s withdrawal from Afghanistan following the near two-decade intervention which began in the aftermath of 9/11.
Andy Barnham, a former Royal Artillery captain who served two tours in the restive country, told Metro.co.uk that some of the former interpreters have still not been relocated.
Former Afghan interpreters told their stories and were pictured for an exhibition by two British researchers (Picture and design: © Andy Barnham 2022)
‘Three years later there are still some interpreters left behind in Afghanistan and some who have only recently arrived,’ he said.
‘Those who are in the UK experience a postcode lottery in regards to care, integration and legal status, all of which inflicts its own stress and pressure.
‘These are clever, hard-working and driven individuals; they want to contribute and be successful, not live in limbo existing on Universal Credit.
‘They all still have family in Afghanistan who continue to be subject to Taliban threats, or worse, as a punishment for being associated with the interpreters who served with the British Army.
‘Imagine an elderly parent requiring help but you are half a world away and unable to assist; it is heartbreaking.’
Former British Army Captain Ed Aitken worked with Afghan interpreters in the country before co-founding the Sulha Alliance (Picture: Ed Aitken/Sulha Alliance)
Dr Sara De Jong, co-founder of the Sulha Alliance, a charity campaigning for the rights of the former interpreters, told Metro.co.uk that some of the Afghans were living in ‘isolated military bases’.
‘Three years after the withdrawal, there are still Afghan interpreters left in Afghanistan and other interpreters who have only finally been brought to the UK in the last few months,’ she said.
‘Today, there are interpreters who are still being moved between temporary accommodation on isolated military bases in the UK, whose lives have been in limbo for three years.
‘While they are desperate to build a new life and start employment, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has failed in providing them with a base from which to start their integration journey in the UK.’
Around 27,000 eligible Afghans who worked with the British military or British Council, or are considered vulnerable, have been resettled in the UK, according to official figures.
Many arrived via the mass evacuation from Kabul International Airport in the final days of the Western allies’ withdrawal from the country as the Taliban swept to power.
An Afghan boy holding a leaflet promoting the virtues of the Afghan National Army while a sergeant talks to a stall holder (Picture: © Andy Barnham)
At the weekend, British veteran Ahmad Fahim recalled the chaos as he helped rescue civilians and came within 200 metres of a suicide bomb.
The final UK personnel left on a flight which departed on August 28, 2021 following the largest humanitarian aid operation since the Berlin Airlift.
Celebrating at the airport with bursts of gunfire in the final hours of the evacuation, the Taliban now preside over one of the world’s most repressive regimes, with a harsh curtailing of the rights of women and girls.
Dr Jong, senior lecturer in politics at the University of York, said: ‘For those who have been in the UK since the evacuation operation, the month of August remains an extremely painful reminder of how their sacrifices failed to bring about the peaceful Afghanistan that they worked so hard for.
‘Their fate haunts me’
Afghanistan veteran Andy Burnham reflects on his time in the country to mark the third anniversary of the UK withdrawal.
‘My abiding recollection is one of kindness and the friendship of strangers who became friends but whom I have never seen since. In 2006 I worked with Italians, in Herat, who looked after me incredibly well and I continue to remember with incredible fondness.
‘In 2008 I mentored an Afghan National Army unit who became my friends. Against regulations I used to travel in their vehicles and patrol with them by myself as a solo British Army soldier.
‘I knew, should a situation arise, they would be there for me.
‘With what’s happened since the fall of Kabul, I do not know if any of these Afghan soldiers are alive and their fate haunts me.’
‘Also now, their family members continue to be subject to Taliban threats, kidnapping and extortion as a punishment for interpreters and others who worked with the British Army.
‘Only a tiny fraction of Afghan interpreters who were injured on duty have received the injury compensation they deserve and many interpreters’ skills go to waste as Uber drivers and warehouse labourers.
‘Still, interpreters and their families show remarkable resilience and success in their integration in the UK, from winning prizes with their local cricket club to their children’s impressive school performances.’
Barnham told Metro.co.uk that the far-right disorder in the aftermath of the Southport murders also casts a shadow over the resettlement efforts.
His first-hand experience of the upheaval caused by conflict includes two tours of Afghanistan, which included working as a military interpreter making use of his ability to speak Pashtun.
An image of an Afghan veteran mixed with his reflections as featured in the ‘Armed With Words…’ exhibition (Picture and design: © Andy Barnham)
‘In an ideal world, the Afghan interpreters being resettled in the UK would feel safe and would have started to view this country as home,’ he said.
‘Unfortunately this third anniversary is instead marked by unprecedented violence aimed at immigrants and asylum seekers in the UK.
‘The world is less safe today, with examples such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Israel’s destruction of Gaza, civil war in Somalia and a Venezuelan president who’s doubling down on a disputed re-election victory.
‘We need to understand the effects of this; no one wants to be forced to leave their homeland. No one wants to traffic themselves through foreign countries and no one wants to throw themselves on the mercy of a foreign nation. Immigration is complicated.
Taliban fighters attend a ceremony in Kabul on March 31, 2022 to hoist the flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Picture: EPA)
‘Social co-operation is hard. Conversation, in regards to immigration, in the UK needs to evolve to reflect these global events and their effect on us.
‘Pointing fingers at those most in need is overly simplistic and is divisive just at the time when we need to help each other.’
Barnham and Dr Jong have continued to draw attention to the physical and psychological scars borne by the relocated Afghans through an award-winning photographic exhibition of interpreters living in the UK.
The collection features 14 obscured faces composed by blurring or pixelating up to a dozen frames to create the final image.
The researchers also produced a linked display entitled ‘Armed With Words: Interpreting the War in Afghanistan (2001-2021)’, which added images of veteran advocates to the pictures of the Afghans and was recently displayed at the Fusilier Museum in the Tower of London.
The West’s mission was given critical support by Afghans who listened to Taliban radio chatter and spoke to tribal elders (Picture: © Andy Barnham)
Ex-interpreters have told Metro.co.uk of their gratitude to the UK for resettling them and their families as the Taliban swept to power, although they have also spoken of leaving loved ones behind.
The main relocation channels offered to people affected by the upheaval in the country are the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.
A combined total of around 27,000 people arrived in the UK through the schemes as of March, according to the House of Commons library.
The MoD has previously said that ‘all applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis’ and have ‘varying degrees of complexity which can affect how quickly they are processed.’
A government spokesperson said: ‘The government has a new drive to ensure that all Afghans who have relocated to the UK are supported to build their new lives, and to address shortcomings of the ARAP scheme at pace.
‘Afghans who have been relocated to the UK are entitled to work and a range of support is provided, including language training, recognition of qualifications, and specialist employment advice, to help people find jobs.
‘Those who are eligible to move to the UK can bring immediate family and other family members whose safety may be under threat.’
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