Afghan interpreter rehomed in Colchester speaks of Taliban fears

Prime Minister Boris Johnson drew up a resettlement scheme to grant 20,000 Afghans refuge in the UK over the next five years – with Colchester Council also announcing it had agreed to accommodate families at a hotel in the town.

But it is not the first time Colchester has provided Afghans with a safe haven from violence and extremism.

Over the years, Afghans have settled in Colchester after being granted a UK visa so they can rebuild their lives in a safer country.

One man – who we are calling Iqbal to protect his identity and his family in Afghanistan – is one of them.

He and his family fled to the UK from Afghanistan in 2015 after Iqbal had been granted a UK visa by the British embassy.

Having worked for the British Army as an interpreter for three years in Kabul, Iqbal was able to secure the relevant paperwork to settle in the UK legally and without fear of deportation.

Read more >> Colchester troops could be brought back from Afghanistan 'in days'

But many of his relatives, who are still in Afghanistan, are not so lucky; with the Taliban having taken control of the country, his family now fear for their lives on a daily basis.

Iqbal, who has now lived in the UK for six years with his wife and three children, worries every day for his parents and siblings who are still in a country which many worry is on the verge of a civil war.

He said: “I am upset for my brothers, my family, for my wife’s family – I’m so sad because the situation in Afghanistan is so bad now. The situation has changed so quickly.”

We talk about life in Afghanistan before Taliban rule – but Iqbal says he was not safe then either.

“In one sense I had to leave Afghanistan,” he said.

“If I stayed there, I knew that one day they would kill me, they may behead me, they may slaughter me – that’s why I left, I had to leave.”

He continued: “As an interpreter for the British Army, I was worried for my safety.

“People told me ‘You’re from Afghanistan – as a Muslim you shouldn’t be working for foreign forces’.

“But when I got home from work when I was in Kabul my dad always told me’ Don’t go anywhere’ because it was so dangerous.”

Iqbal provides an insightful view of what is going on in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over.

He explains the new regime has a greater severity and forcefulness than the former government.

“We cannot trust the Taliban,” he said, bluntly. “The other day, my dad told me the Taliban knocked on his door and said ‘Look, you need to come to pray, you need to do this, you need to do that’. These people are telling my dad what to do.

Read more >> Frightened families fleeing Afghanistan to be given refuge in Colchester hotel

“This is just the second week [of Taliban rule in Afghanistan] – what will happen later?

“They say ‘We are all brothers’ but which brotherhood are they talking about?

“We can’t be brothers like this – you intimidate people.

“They go to my dad’s house and he has no defence – it made me so worried when he told me about this.”

The UK may not be Iqbal’s home country but since he settled in Colchester with his wife and children, he feels grateful for the sense of safety he feels.

“Once it was announced that interpreters could come to the UK, it was one of the happiest days for me,” he said.

I then ask him how he has found Colchester more specifically – has it welcomed him and does he feel accepted?

“The people here are friendly with me,” he said.

“I haven’t had any racism here in Colchester.”

In particular, Iqbal pays tribute to the charity Refugee Action, which helps refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants become part of the community.

He said: “Refugee Action have helped me so much – any problem I have, I go straight to them.

“If I have paperwork, or need any help, I go straight to them – any problem you have, they help you.

“When we go to Refugee Action each month, we see people and we talk to each other – the people there are good to us.”

The conversation then turns to his desire to remain anonymous for the interview.

He’s adamant he doesn’t want his real name shared, and I don’t make any attempt to try to convince him otherwise.

But the reasons he gives for wanting us to use a different name give an idea of just how worried people are in Afghanistan about the Taliban regime and why so many people – including his family – are desperate to leave.

“I was told when I was an interpreter that I had betrayed my country,” he said.

“If my name finds its way back to Afghanistan, the next day, someone may turn up to my dad’s house and shoot my dad, my brother… I’m scared to give my name.

“I cannot even trust people I know,” he added. “I don’t want to lose my family.”

And it’s Iqbal’s family that is at the heart of all his worries.

The Taliban, he says, are unpredictable, particularly in the early days of their regime.

Although the Taliban are prepared to let Afghans leave the country after August 31, it’s only on the basis that they have proper visas, leaving Iqbal’s family with no option but to stay.

“I am scared so much by the situation,” Iqbal said,

“My dad, my sister, my brother are all over there, and I wish they could leave.

“My dad keeps saying to me ‘You need to do something for me’ and I tell him I’ll try my best – but how can he come to the UK? He has no visa.”

He continued: “These people in Afghanistan… they are so fierce, so cruel. They have no mercy, no compassion – this is not Islam.”

When listening to how he talks about the situation in his home country, where his own family is trapped, you can only think to yourself how impossible it must be to turn people away.