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The human cost of Britain’s withdrawal from Afghanistan will be felt by those who were eligible to return to the UK but failed to catch flights from Kabul.
It is not known exactly how many eligible people remain, but among them is the family of a man called Mohammad, whose name has been changed to protect his identity.
He is originally from Afghanistan but is now a British citizen after fleeing the Taliban over 20 years ago and relocating to the UK.
Her three children, of British nationality, are stranded in Kabul, as are Mohammad’s wife and mother. He says his children “must be in the UK” and that they have “the same rights as other children in the UK, but nobody cares”.
His family lives in the north of the country and before the Taliban takeover this month, Mohammad divided his time between Afghanistan and the UK as he does business in both countries.
His wife, three young children and elderly mother traveled to Kabul to attempt an evacuation flight.
They received an email from the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) telling them to go to a safe house near the airport for treatment. After spending three days in the melee at the airport, they received another email from the government telling them to leave the area due to the risk of terrorist attack.
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Afghanistan: “Far from the success of the mission”
Since then, Mohammad says, they have not been able to get answers on how, when or if they will be evacuated to the UK. He couldn’t bring himself to talk to his children for two days because, he says, “I can’t answer their questions. My daughter asks me ‘daddy, what are you doing?’ The flights are going to be closed and we will be left behind. “
In a statement on Saturday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Although our immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan is now complete, the UK will continue to provide assistance to all remaining British and Afghan nationals who have supported us and that we have not been able to evacuate in the last fortnight. “
