Let more Afghan interpreters resettle in UK, say ex-military chiefs
Author
Front News Georgia
Dozens of former military commanders have called on the government to allow more Afghans who worked for British forces to resettle in the UK.
Ministers have recently expanded the UK’s relocation scheme for Afghans.
But in a letter to the PM, the group said they were “gravely concerned” about hundreds of interpreters who have had their applications rejected.
The MoD said it had already supported more than 2,200 former Afghan staff and their families to resettle in the UK.
Those who have signed the letter include four former chiefs of the defence staff, Lord Boyce, Lord Stirrup, Lord Richards and Lord Houghton; two former heads of the British Army, Lord Wall and Lord Dannatt; Lord Ricketts, the former national security advisor, and former Defence Minister Johnny Mercer, who served as a soldier in Helmand.
Their letter says: “Too many of our former interpreters have unnecessarily and unreasonably been rejected… We strongly urge that the policy is reviewed again immediately, to ensure more are given sanctuary”.
In May, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced plans to accelerate the relocation of hundreds more Afghan interpreters to the UK, following the decisions by US and NATO forces to leave the country.
Under the expanded Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) the government said another 3,000 former interpreters and their families would be allowed to settle in the UK.
But the letter highlights the cases of many interpreters who are among the 35% of staff who were dismissed from service for various reasons “without any due process or ability to appeal their dismissal”.
Hamdar, not his real name, worked as a translator for British forces in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province between 2011 and 2014.
He says his contract was terminated because he refused to clean the latrines after returning from three back-to-back patrols. He says it wasn’t his job.
Speaking from his home near Kabul, where he is in hiding with his wife and 10 month old daughter, he told the BBC: “The Taliban don’t care if I was dismissed or fired…. All they care is that I worked for the British and anyone who worked for the British, they’re gonna kill us.”
Tags:
