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Welcome to Britain: a young Afghan's experience

No Borderer | 08.06.2012 17:47 | Afghanistan | Anti-racism | Migration

What follows is the telephone transcript of a conversation I just had with a teenage detainee awaiting deportation on the next charter flight to Afghanistan (11th June). It is a typical story of one of the many Afghan youngsters put on the fortnightly charters.

Where the boy is currently detained
Where the boy is currently detained


"I am from X province in Afghanistan, it is a very very heavy situation there with Taliban. The Taliban control everything. They killed my relatives and then my father. My mother died afterwards - she was sick. Then X, a powerful man in my village, came and said to me I am young and no-one can look after me now, so I must join the Taliban. My uncle don't want this and he pays an agent to take me out of Afghanistan.

I was taken to Iran and I stay in one room, there are no windows.
Then I was taken to Turkiya. The agent put me in a room again and I have to stay there.
I was taken to Greek. In Greek the agent put me in a dark room. I asked him, "please can I leave now we are in Europe?", but he says no.
Then he take me to Italy - I hear you have a good chance there for refugee so I ask the agent, I beg beg beg him to let me go, I want to stay here, but he don't let me.
Finally then I was taken to France and my agent don't let me stay there, he says your uncle said you must go to UK. Then he put me in the lorry.
When I came out of a lorry there was police, I asked what country I am in and they say "UK". I was happy.

They did interview and asked me like 160 questions. Then they put me in a children's home, but the other Afghani boys they are saying that they deport the people there back to Afghanistan. I was very scared. Some of the other Afghani people told me to run away they said you will be deported as well. Other people said you must stay to get asylum. I don't know what I should do. I don't know the police in the UK are good or bad, so I run away.

I don't know where to go but I have a friend in Derby, so I go on a train to Derby. I don't speak English but I ask a lady if I can use her mobile to call my friend. She look at me and see my clothes are very bad, my hair is bad because I been in lorry... I am like animal. So she ask me what country I am from and I say Afghanistan. But she don't give me the phone, she call 99-? What is it? She called the police. I said to her please, please I'm scared and I don't understand what to do.

I run away and go to another carriage of the train. I ask another man if I can use his mobile. This man is so so kind, he let me call my friend and give me £10 as well.

My friend meet me in Derby and I stay with him. I go to college and it is ok. Then one day my teacher ask me questions, like who is looking after me, how do I eat, something about social service. I don't answer any question. I don't have nothing, so I leave college and don't go back there.

Then in December the police arrest me in the street. I been 7 months in this detention centre and I am going crazy, I am getting headaches. Where can I live in Afghanistan? It's impossible. Please help me I am scared."

Charter flights involving around 60 people take place every fortnight from the UK. If you want to do something about this, come along to the Stop Deportations to Afghanistan meeting hosted by NCADC on 25th June:  http://ncadc.org.uk/events/afgmeetingleaflet.pdf

No Borderer

Comments

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terrible and moving

09.06.2012 08:17

Thanks for posting this. This must be happening all the time without peoples voices being heard, their stories told. What we are doing to children, teenagers, men and women, just because they are 'foreign' is shameful. Charter flights have been stopped before when enough people get together and take action.

anon

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IMC UK is an interactive site offering inclusive participation. All postings to the open publishing newswire are the responsibility of the individual authors and not of IMC UK. Although IMC UK volunteers attempt to ensure accuracy of the newswire, they take no responsibility legal or otherwise for the contents of the open publishing site. Mention of external web sites or services is for information purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation.

Very important

11.06.2012 07:23

An important post that reinforces the need for the NATO troops to remain in Afghanistan and defend the people there from the Taliban and their religious fascism. At a time when a few misinformed people on the scene are claiming that the country would be better if the troops left real person testimony from an individual affected by the situation is so very important.

thanks for posting

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This posting has been hidden because it breaches the Indymedia UK (IMC UK) Editorial Guidelines.

IMC UK is an interactive site offering inclusive participation. All postings to the open publishing newswire are the responsibility of the individual authors and not of IMC UK. Although IMC UK volunteers attempt to ensure accuracy of the newswire, they take no responsibility legal or otherwise for the contents of the open publishing site. Mention of external web sites or services is for information purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation.

Love and respect

11.06.2012 12:23


An important post that reinforces the need for the NATO troops to remain in Afghanistan and defend the people there from the Taliban and their religious fascism. At a time when a few misinformed people on the scene are claiming that the country would be better if the troops left real person testimony from an individual affected by the situation is so very important.

We are thinking of you

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This posting has been hidden because it breaches the Indymedia UK (IMC UK) Editorial Guidelines.

IMC UK is an interactive site offering inclusive participation. All postings to the open publishing newswire are the responsibility of the individual authors and not of IMC UK. Although IMC UK volunteers attempt to ensure accuracy of the newswire, they take no responsibility legal or otherwise for the contents of the open publishing site. Mention of external web sites or services is for information purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation.

Thanks

11.06.2012 19:06

An important post that reinforces the need for the NATO troops to remain in Afghanistan and defend the people there from the Taliban and their religious fascism. At a time when a few misinformed people on the scene are claiming that the country would be better if the troops left real person testimony from an individual affected by the situation is so very important.

Bill

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IMC UK is an interactive site offering inclusive participation. All postings to the open publishing newswire are the responsibility of the individual authors and not of IMC UK. Although IMC UK volunteers attempt to ensure accuracy of the newswire, they take no responsibility legal or otherwise for the contents of the open publishing site. Mention of external web sites or services is for information purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation.

update

13.06.2012 13:20


An important post that reinforces the need for the NATO troops to remain in Afghanistan and defend the people there from the Taliban and their religious fascism. At a time when a few misinformed people on the scene are claiming that the country would be better if the troops left real person testimony from an individual affected by the situation is so very important.

updater

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