Now hero translator from siege is denied a life in UK
AN AFGHAN interpreter who helped save the lives of UK troops trapped by the Taliban in a remote outpost has been denied sanctuary in Britain.
Fardin, 37, served alongside British soldiers for more than a decade but was told he could not come to the UK because he was on the frontline for only ten months, not 12.
This was despite the fact he had been moved to the Afghan capital Kabul by the Army after his brother, also an interpreter, was killed by the Taliban.
His case is the latest in a string of scandals surrounding the Government’s policy on Afghan interpreters. Colonel Simon Diggins, the former British defence attache in Kabul, is the latest senior military figure to criticise current rules. ‘I find it unconscionable that the Government is so blind to this glaring injustice,’ he said.
‘These people put themselves on the frontline and the way we are treating them is shocking. They are all under threat.
‘ The fact the Taliban haven’t attacked them yet is because it is a matter of opportunity.’
Fardin, whose last name has been withheld to protect his identity, was with 88 soldiers when they were surrounded by up to 500 Taliban fighters in Musa Qala in 2006.
He monitored Taliban radio, providing details of attacks as the men – a mix of Paratroopers and Royal Irish Regiment troops – held out for 56 days. He then helped senior officers broker an extraordinary truce that allowed the outpost to be evacuated.
After the interpreter was moved to Kabul he went on to serve the UK military for more than a decade even after receiving death threats from insurgents.
Yet when he was made redundant in November last year officials told him he did not qualify for resettlement in the UK because he had not served a full year on the frontline.
Fardin was widely praised by British soldiers for his calmness, bravery and ability under fire.
He was also seen in a Channel 4 documentary about the siege of Musa Qala – which was likened to the Battle of Rorke’s Drift in 1879 during the Anglo-Zulu War – called said: ‘ They called and said I too would die and that I was a spy for the British infidel.’
Fardin said he spent around ten months on the frontlines during two spells with the Army. Other dangers he faced included being ambushed on a foot patrol and being on a Chinook helicopter hit by a rocketpropelled grenade.
‘The British told me many times that I had helped to save our lives,’ he said. ‘They were brave men who I am proud to have lived with. They will always be my friends.’
The Daily Mail’s Betrayal of the Brave campaign has highlighted the cases of interpreters who have been abandoned in Afghanistan, including Britain’s longest- serving Afghan interpreter, Ricky, 34, who served for 16 years but cannot come to the UK for the same reason.
Under the Government’s relocation scheme, interpreters have to have served in Helmand to qualify for sanctuary in Britain.
Paddy Ashdown, the former Lib Dem leader and an ex-Royal Marine, said: ‘ The Government policy is a disgrace to our nation and has damaged our national honour.
‘They must change it for Fardin and for all the others who stood alongside our soldiers.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘More than 390 former Afghan staff and their families have been relocated to the UK and we expect to relocate more.
‘We have expert teams in the UK and in Kabul who ensure former Afghan staff who feel threatened are supported.’