A Bristol woman who fears for her family’s lives in Afghanistan has spoken of her struggle to get them assistance, under the British government’s Afghan resettlement scheme. She says her nephews formerly worked for the Afghan army and her niece has escaped an abusive marriage.
Sara*, who has lived in Bristol for more than 20 years, said she has the financial means to support her family and can pay for everything. Under the UK’s Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), the Government said it will prioritise members of Afghan civil society who supported the UK in Afghanistan and vulnerable people, including women, girls and members of minority groups at risk.
Although the Home Office says it is doing "all it can" to get people to safety, Sara said she feels that the British government “doesn’t care” about people in Afghanistan and doesn’t value the human rights of all nationalities equally. She said life is “hell” for her family there and they feel like migrants in their own country, constantly having to move locations.
READ MORE: Bristol resident desperate to help family escape from Afghanistan after home raided by Taliban
Sara told Bristol Live her nephews previously fought for the Afghan army in Helmand Province, and stood on the front line against the Taliban, protecting British soldiers who were behind them. She says the two young men have been in hiding for over a year now because they assisted the British after the US led NATO coalition invaded the country in 2001 and remained there for 20 years.
She is concerned about the safety and mental wellbeing of her two nieces who are also in hiding. She said her older niece, who previously worked as a schoolteacher, was told by her ex-partner that she should give up work, she ended the relationship and is now living with her mother.
Sara said that although her niece filed for a divorce, the court ruled that she has no grounds for a divorce and needs to go back to her husband who she described as violent, abusive and is now working with the Taliban and giving them information about the family. She claimed: “He went to the house about two months ago with a gun asking for my niece to come back to him.
"She doesn’t want to go back to him because he was abusing her. She used to work as a teacher but her husband didn’t like her going outside to work, that’s why she wanted a divorce and came back to her mum’s house.
“He hit her and tried to force her to go back with him. She told him that she needs a week to pack her things from her mum’s house and then she would go with him.
“The next evening they ran away to hide in a village. My sister's youngest daughter, who is 13, is now suffering from mental health problems.
“She witnessed the attack, when the Taliban attacked their house. She can’t sleep at night and gets up in the middle of the night, screaming.
“It’s hard for them living in Afghanistan, life is hell for them. They are like migrants in their own country having to move from city to city.”
After a year trying to get them to the UK, she said there is still no news from the UK government. Sara’s MP, Darren Jones, wrote to the government saying he has been contacted by 12 families in his Bristol North-West constituency, whose loved ones are unable to find a safe and legal root to seek asylum in the UK due to the Home Office not processing their applications.
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In a letter addressed to the Secretary of State and Minister for Migration on September 30 this year, Mr Jones stated: “Three of the families have approached our office about family members that have applied under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). However, they have heard nothing since their applications were submitted approximately a year ago.
“These families remain in imminent danger. None of the families can access the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) either because they are still in Afghanistan or have otherwise struggled to access the scheme.
“Constituents have reported their family members living in constant fear of the Taliban after having been physically targeted and had their homes ransacked. All of this is causing significant strains on my constituents’ mental health.
“They feel hopeless and unable to provide help. In addition to concerns about their family members’ welfare, my constituents have highlighted the ongoing hardships that many who were unable to evacuate from Afghanistan last year face under Taliban rule.
“Financial strain is very common. Families in my constituency are reporting that their relatives are unable to support themselves due to the economic instability created by the Taliban or purchase the medications required to treat various health conditions.
“The twelve families my office is assisting recognise the scale of work undertaken by the UK Government earlier this year following the Russian invasion of Ukraine but feel that the ongoing response to the situation in Afghanistan lacks the same urgency.”
Afghanistan has been classified as the most dangerous country in the world for five consecutive years. A UN-backed report published earlier this year stated that record levels of hunger persist in Afghanistan with nearly 20 million people- almost half the population - facing hunger.
Sara feels completely let down by the British government, who she believes has their part to play in the current situation in Afghanistan after they invaded the country in 2001 and remained there for 20 years, during a war in which more than 170,000 Afghans were killed.
Sara said: “For 20 years the USA, Britain, France and Germany were in my country, a lot of people have died during that time. We lost a lot of people, a lot of soldiers and a lot of young people.
“They used a lot of money to pay for the war and a lot of people died from that. Now, we are in the same situation - they didn’t do anything for us, they killed a lot of people, that’s it.
“Everyone is fighting in my country, they made my country like that. British soldiers first came to my country in 1919.
“They don’t learn from the past and they keep coming back. The Taliban didn’t exist before, America gave birth to them, they fed them and then they fought against them.
“In 20 years how did the Taliban survive? They gave them money behind closed doors, even a child knows that.
“In Afghanistan over a 100 people are killed everyday. There was a suicide bomb in a school recently, there’s no human rights in Afghanistan, there’s nothing in Afghanistan.
“There’s no work, no education, nothing. My family are lucky, they have money, but they don’t have a life there.
“Since the war started in Ukraine everyone has forgotten about Afghanistan, why isn’t human rights in the UK the same for everyone?Whether you're from Afghanistan, Ukraine or Somalia, why can’t everyone have the same human rights?”
A Home Office spokesperson said: "During Operation Pitting we evacuated 15,000 people from Kabul and we continue to do all we can to secure safe passage and enable British nationals and eligible Afghans to leave the country.”
*Names have been changed to protect identities
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