When the Taliban seized power a year ago, Afghans working in Western countries were put in danger. Now those who remain in Afghanistan tell the BBC that they feel they have been betrayed by Western countries.
11:13•Updated 11:24
Monday marked one year since the Taliban stormed the Afghan capital, Kabul, and seized power in Afghanistan.
As a result, panicked evacuations also began. Under the leadership of the United States, an air bridge was formed from Kabul, through which Western workers and some of the Afghans who worked for them left the country.
However, not everyone who wanted to was able to go.
One of them has worked in British and American development cooperation projects Jafferwhich the Taliban accuses of espionage.
– I have been in the hospital due to stress and shock states. I can not sleep. My doctor has put me on strong drugs, but they don’t help much either. My wife also suffers from depression. I don’t let my children go to school. I’m afraid they will be identified, Jaffer says to the BBC.
The British Foreign Office tells the BBC that Afghan workers can still apply for protection in Britain, but did not specify how long it would take to process the applications.
So far, Jaffer has not been given a response other than the processing number of the application.
The workers were left behind
Other BBC interviewees report similar experiences.
Worked as a teacher in the British Education and Culture Programme Anmar accusing Britain of treating its workers unequally.
– The office workers were able to leave, but we were left here, says Anmar.
According to him, the teachers were not even told about the possibility of applying for protection in Britain. A total of about one hundred Afghan teachers worked in the British cultural program, the majority of whom were women.
Another Afghan teacher interviewed by the BBC Noria says he regrets working for Britain.
– I wish I hadn’t worked for the British administration, because they don’t value our lives and work, and they’ve been cruel in abandoning us here, Noria says.
Jaffer fears for his children.
– My daughter cannot study. I had big plans for her. Will my young sons become extremists? I keep asking myself why I put them in this world. If this is their future, maybe they shouldn’t be alive.
The names of the interviewees have been changed to protect their identities.