Hundreds of Afghans evacuated from Pakistan ‘dumped’ in UK military bases — report
ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of Afghan refugees have been “dumped” in military bases in the United Kingdom (UK) as ministers figure out where to house them, according to the British media, a move condemned as the government’s “latest betrayal” of asylum seekers.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) is trying to evacuate 3,000 people with links to the British armed forces who have been languishing in hotels in Pakistan after Islamabad announced a crackdown on undocumented migrants, Britain’s The Independent newspaper reported.
While some of the relocated Afghan families have been moved into accommodation for British forces, hundreds have been placed in military barracks in Loughborough, Gloucestershire, Blackpool and Staffordshire. Some of them say they are unable to leave and have been given little information about starting their new lives in Britain.
A refugee on a base in Garats Hay said they had been forced to rely on help from a charity volunteer to call 111 emergency service to obtain antibiotics when they were struggling to access medical help.
“There is no way to leave. No one can come in, and no one can leave the base. We’ve not been told anything about how long we’re going to be here, they just put us here for an unknown period of time,” he was quoted as telling the newspaper.
“There’s nothing to do here. We are just staring at the walls right now.”
While staying at Garats Hay, the refugees say they are unable to leave, and they cannot get council support to set up credit claims and register with the National Health Service (NHS) until they are moved on, according to the report.
Other Afghans have been moved to Swynnerton Camp, a 560-acre base in Staffordshire used for military training. Some have been placed at Weeton Barracks near Blackpool, in housing usually reserved for soldiers and their families, while Beachley Barracks in Gloucestershire is also being used. These refugees have been told they will be at the barracks for six weeks before they are found more permanent homes.
The revelations come as the British government continues to face criticism for its treatment of migrants, following the failure of its plan to deport them to Rwanda.
General Sir John McColl, a former deputy supreme allied commander in Europe, praised the MoD for bringing people to Britain, but warned that the British government had questions to answer on the help being given to these families, while shadow armed forces minister Luke Pollard said Afghans would face “even more uncertainty.”
“A lot of them are being moved into service family accommodation. The question then to be asked is what happens when that is full. That question hasn’t been answered yet,” he was quoted as saying. “I would also like to know more about the Home Office’s role in funding councils to help them receive these families. What next, is the question.”
The relocation plan has seen charter flights bring hundreds of Afghans to the UK since the end of October. The rushed evacuations came after Rishi Sunak’s government was forced to relocate Afghan refugees from Pakistan in response to numerous legal challenges over the delay in transferring those who were eligible to come to the UK.
General Sir Richard Dannatt, a former head of the army, said the MoD was working hard to find homes for these refugees.
“A combination of putting them in MoD accommodation and local authority accommodation around the country is the right thing to do – not leaving them in hotels to languish for many months,” he said.