'The more we wait, the more in danger we are'

 

Afghans, including former officials and activists, are calling on the UK government to announce when its new resettlement scheme will open.

Many fearful for their safety under the Taliban regime say they are worried for their lives while they wait to find out if they are eligible to come to the UK.

One man currently in hiding in the country told the BBC: "The more we wait the more in danger we are."

Minister Victoria Atkins told MPs the scheme was not being paused.

The Home Office minister said: "While we appreciate the need to act quickly it is also important that we do this properly and ensure any scheme meets the needs of those it is being set up to support."

Meanwhile, shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy has written to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to raise "serious concerns", saying that months after the official evacuation ended thousands of people are still stranded in Afghanistan.

Ms Truss faces questions from MPs in Parliament on Tuesday, the first time in her new role.

The government announced a new Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) on 18 August, and committed to re-house 5,000 vulnerable Afghans in the UK in the first year, and 20,000 in the coming years. It is not yet open.

That scheme is separate to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) that launched on 1 April to resettle people who worked for the UK in Afghanistan.

The BBC has spoken to Afghans who are waiting to find out if they will be eligible for the scheme, one who talks about his family home being raided by the Taliban, and another who reports family members being threatened.

All their names have been changed to protect their anonymity.

Mohammed, who is in hiding in Afghanistan, is an alumnus of the Chevening scholarship scheme, the government programme that funds masters degrees at UK universities for foreign students with leadership potential.

In August, he and other Chevening alumni were told they - and current scholars - would be a priority for the first wave of evacuations and provided the UK government with their details.

But they are not sure if they will be eligible for the new ACRS scheme.

He told the BBC: "The fact that it has taken so long is one concern, but the fact we don't even know if we will be considered for the scheme is a bigger concern for us."

He fears that "the more we wait the more in danger we are, the more risk we face" and worries that because Chevening scholars and alumni were previously prioritised for evacuation they have been identified as a group with a strong affiliation to the UK.

 

"It's been more than a month now that I and many other Chevening alumni like me are hiding in our houses and we are fearing persecution if we step out.

"We are trying to limit our interactions - we have had very limited interaction with our friends and relatives."

He added that if "you go out and you talk to someone and they find you - it's over for you".

"If I stay here - that's the end of life. I can't go out, I can't get a job, I can't work, study - nothing at all. That's something to think about later. Right now - it's our lives that are in danger."

Source BBC