As Western allies mark two years since the Taliban retook Kabul, calls from aid organisations have come to further help Afghan refugees reach the UK legally, with many attempting to arrive across the Channel illegally in small boats.
The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021 as Western forces, including Britain and the United States, hurriedly made their withdrawal after a 20-year occupation.
Operation Pitting was the largest evacuation effort Britain has been involved in since the Second World War, with more than 15,000 people taken from Afghanistan to the UK in just over 16 days in August 2021.
Speaking on the anniversary, Cabinet Office minister Johnny Mercer promised to make the UK resettlement scheme “work properly.”
In 2021, the government pledged a “significant cross-government effort” dubbed “Operation Warm Welcome,” which was meant to “ensure Afghans arriving in the UK receive the vital support they need to rebuild their lives, find work, pursue education, and integrate into their local communities.”
Mr. Mercer, who served in Afghanistan during his time in the military, acknowledged some people had been left behind after the Taliban takeover in August 2021 and still have not been brought to safety in Britain two years on.
He said the UK should be “proud” of the efforts to rescue and resettle people in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of Western forces from the country.
Hotels Were ‘Never the Intention’
Asked if the government had got it right to date, Mr. Mercer said: “Clearly, hotels are not long-term accommodation options for Afghans and their families. I mean, some of them have had a very, very difficult experience. I recognise that. I’ve visited a lot of them myself.“It was never the intention [for them to stay in hotels].”
Bond, an umbrella body in the UK representing international development organisations, said the Afghan people had been living “in a waking nightmare” since the return of the fundamentalist Taliban regime.
Gideon Rabinowitz, Bond’s policy and advocacy director, expressed concerns over human rights, poverty, and malnutrition for those still in the country.
He added: “The UK and the international community must not abandon Afghanistan. Our support cannot end because troops left.
“We urge the UK government to stay engaged via civil groups on the ground and diplomatic pragmatism while maintaining its commitments to promised UK aid funding and refugee resettlement.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s “Today” programme, former diplomat Sir Laurie Bristow, who was serving as UK ambassador to Afghanistan when Kabul fell, said the failure to produce a state “capable of standing on its own two feet” before the Taliban took charge was a foreign policy failure.
‘Huge Humanitarian Catastrophe’
He stated: “There was no shortage of resources put into Afghanistan—primarily by the Americans, secondarily by the UK and other allies—but, as I said, what that didn’t produce was a state that was capable of standing on its own two feet.“We need to understand why that was. My own view on that was that we didn’t engage early enough in the question of how to create the kind of political settlement that would bind in the Taliban and the people they represent in a way that would enable us safely to withdraw our troops.
“What we’ve got as a result of that is a huge humanitarian catastrophe.
“I think we certainly have a responsibility to the Afghans who worked for us and with us during those 20 years.”
He agreed that some of them might arrive on small boats.
Afghans have, in fact, been the most common nationality to arrive on small boats crossing the English Channel in the first half of this year, according to the latest provisional data from the Home Office.
Six people died and at least 58, many of them Afghans, were rescued after a boat got into difficulty in the Channel off the coast of France on Saturday.
While thousands of Afghan migrants have moved into settled accommodation in the UK, many others have remained in hotels.
No Need to Risk Lives Illegally
The Home Office has previously said it is continuing to provide “extensive support to all those in hotels.”A spokesperson added that this support is “backed by £285 million of new funding.”
The Home Office also urged that: “There is no need for Afghans to risk their lives by taking dangerous and illegal journeys.
“Between 2015 and 2022, we have offered a place to over half a million people seeking safety through our safe and legal humanitarian routes. Those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach, which is often close to the region or in a neighbouring country.”
Speaking to The Epoch Times, Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch, agreed that the resettlement scheme needed to work properly.
Acknowledging Mr. Mercer’s courage as a former veteran, he added: “However, the young male Afghans, paying large sums to criminal traffickers to transport them illegally in flimsy vessels across the Channel, are not being forced to do it, they choose to do it. France is a safe country where they could apply for asylum if that is really what they are after.”
