As recently as the week before Kabul fell, the Home Office sent out a flurry of rejections to applicants who had previously been told they were eligible.
They had sold their property, obtained documents, prepared to leave when they suddenly received a letter that “their presence in the UK would not be conducive to the public good”. Many of them had worked for several years for UK Armed Forces and their veteran colleagues responded with incredulity.
Wallace is not the only one who has cried over what is happening. I heard from former Afghan local staff already resettled in the UK who cried in desperation for family members still in Afghanistan.
Despite reported cases where family members of Afghan interpreters were killed, the UK government has dragged its feet on helping family members left behind.
UNCERTAINTY OVER RELOCATION
Media exposure has resulted in change, but it has been haphazard and reactive.
Interpreters at the British Embassy in Kabul were initially excluded from relocation because they were subcontracted rather than employed directly by the UK government. Abdicating responsibility by employing people through third parties is not done accidentally.
Only after the embassy interpreters reached out to the Sulha Alliance, and their plight was highlighted in the Times and the Daily Mail, were they offered relocation to the UK on Jul 31.
All 21 are currently still in Afghanistan, fearing for their lives. None of them knows when they will be relocated.
Others who have received relocation offers as recently as in the last days have had no information about the next steps. Passport offices are closed and the local unit processing relocation applications is not responding to calls or emails.
On Aug 1, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Wallace confidently declared that: “Those coming to Britain know the truth. If you looked out for us, we will look after you.”
To get to the truth, it may be better to ask those who won’t be coming to Britain any time soon.
Sara de Jong is Senior Lecturer, Department of Politics at University of York. This commentary first appeared on The Conversation.
