The Times - UK (2020-07-28)

14 2GM Tuesday July 28 2020 | the times

News

MICHAEL BRADY/BNPS

Afghan translators

failed by hollow

promises, says MP

The failure of the British government to

fulfil its promise to Afghan interpreters

who worked for UK forces is unaccept-

able and could jeopardise future mili-

tary operations, a senior Tory has said.

Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the

Commons defence committee, spoke

yesterday after it emerged that a pledge

made in 2018 to offer sanctuary to 50

Afghan translators, as well as their

families, had yet to be honoured.

Two interpreters have been resettled

in the UK under the plan announced

by Gavin Williamson when he was

defence secretary.

He said at the time: “Frontline patrol

interpreters were the unsung heroes of

the military campaign in Afghanistan.

They served our nation with dazzling

distinction.”

He extended the narrow parameters

of a redundancy programme for inter-

preters who had served alongside UK

forces in Helmand, the southern

province where some of the bloodiest

fighting of the war took place. The

scheme, which had previously applied

only to those who had lost their jobs in

2012, was widened to include all inter-

preters made redundant from 2006.

In total British forces employed

about 7,000 Afghan civilians during the

13-year combat mission, which ended

in 2014. About half of those were trans-

lators, many of whom served on the

front line.

More than 20 interpreters died in

action. In total 445 Afghan employees,

along with 872 family members, have

been relocated to the UK. However, it is

thought that as many as 2,

interpreters are still in Afghanistan and

fearful for their safety as the Taliban

exerts growing influence and US troops

depart.

Ben Wallace, the defence secretary,

and Priti Patel, the home secretary, met

yesterday to discuss how more Afghan

interpreters could come to the UK.

Eligibility for the scheme is likely to

be extended to allow the government to

reach its target of 50, to which it re-

mains committed.

Urging the government to act, Mr

Ellwood said: “If we make promises to

local people, they should be fulfilled.

They provide invaluable support, not

just in interpreting, but in their local sub-

ject matter knowledge and expertise.”

A failure to honour pledges and help

those who served with Britain might

have repercussions on future military

operations overseas, he warned. “We

will not get brave individuals [to help

UK forces] if they see the promises we

make are hollow.”

Mr Ellwood will raise the issue today

at a private meeting with Alex Ellis, the

deputy national security adviser. The

meeting follows a concerted campaign

from British military veterans intent on

seeking justice for Afghans who served

alongside them on the front line.

The government’s recent offer of a

bespoke immigration route for up to

three million Hongkongers has raised

eyebrows among campaigners in the

light of delays in resettling Afghans.

Colonel Simon Diggins, the former

British defence attaché in Kabul, wrote

to the MoD in May demanding urgent

action, and followed up his letter with a

reminder a month later, but has

received no reply.

He noted that the plight of some

Afghans had not ended upon resettle-

ment in the UK. Some have faced issues

trying to bring their families to join

them in Britain. Others encountered

red tape that has blocked them from

getting well-paid jobs, instead confin-

ing them to low-paid and insecure em-

ployment.

A government spokesman said: “The

home secretary and defence secretary

are committed to dealing with these

legacy issues, and putting a fair system

in place for those who have served this

country.

“When it comes to Afghan

interpreters, the ministers absolutely

recognise the crucial service they

provided and that it’s right we resolve

their settlement.”

Lucy Fisher Defence Editor

Flight vision Short-eared owls like this one in Northumberland often hunt in daytime, looking for small mammals such as voles

‘I want a

future free

from fear’

Case study

A

hmad

Fahim has

faced

regular

threats

because of his

association with

western forces and

even survived a

kidnap attempt two

years ago (Lucy

Fisher writes).

“I want a better

future, I live in

fear,” the former

translator, 32,

told The Times.

Mr Fahim,

right, served

alongside the UK

military at Camp

Bastion, in Helmand,

between 2008 and

2011, according to

documentation seen

by this newspaper.

British officers gave

him a glowing report,

declaring him both

“diligent” and

“professional”.

When the Taliban

threatened his family

he left his job but he

was not allowed to

return and has not

been deemed eligible

for the redundancy

scheme.

He has pleaded with

the UK to allow him,

his wife and three-

year-old son to join

his brother in Britain.

He has applied to

come to the UK on a

separate scheme for

interpreters facing

intimidation, and has

had many interviews

with the British

embassy in Kabul.

His mental health

has suffered and he

has been unable to

work because

employers do not

want to be associated

with some who helped

western forces.

Forced to switch

accommodation

regularly, he has

repeatedly fled his

village on the

outskirts of

Kabul to hide in

the north of the

country for

months at a time.

“I don’t have a good

life. I don’t feel safe at

all,” he said.

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