Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
Forces recruiter still haunted by his own ghosts
IT is the memory of a six-month-old Iraqi girl with third degree burns to more than 40% of her body that sticks most vividly with Kayam Iqbal.
He remembers: “Due to the severity of the burns it was impossible for the doctors to give any fluids, the mother was put into the back of our ambulance and had to try and breast feed her and give it fluids.
“I recall her crying whilst feeding her baby.”
It was experiences like these that left the 39-year-old with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
It is the man’s sheer strength of will that has allowed him not only to survive, but to go on to start a recruitment agency to help others in his position re-acclimatise to civilian life and find work.
His agency, OppO Recruitment Ltd, based in Belmont Road in Uxbridge and operating since 2013, has scooped a top gold accolade as part of the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme.
The award is recognised as a badge of honour for an employer supporting those who serve, veterans and their families.
Mr Iqbal remembers his own struggles finding work after nearly 12 years in the Royal Air Force and active service in Iraq and Afghanistan. His service began with Operation Telic 1, at the very start of the invasion of Iraq.
He also served in Afghanistan, based in Helmand Province – largely considered the most dangerous in the country.
Mr Iqbal said: “I worked as a medic in Iraq and specialised in languages and worked with specialist units in Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan had many issues and caused me many flashbacks also.
“Selling scratch cards for Camelot for £6 per hour after my service was quite depressing, however with the resilience and determination I had due to my service I studied, and each time someone said I could not do something I did it.
“Many people within the military do slip through the net and, unfortunately, the support that recruitment agencies offer to those leaving the military is not good.
“I identified the areas of failure for those leaving the services. I then tried to understand more about why companies were not recruiting ex-military personnel and wanted to show them that we have a great deal of transferable skills.
“It was critical for me to lastly ensure that OppO was not seen as a typical agency and I am glad that we are not.”
For Mr Iqbal, PTSD was not a diagnosis he immediately understood.
“I was unaware of what PTSD was on returning from Afghanistan. I felt a great deal of anger, sadness, frustration – very hard to explain.
“I was bottling it up and pretending that these feelings were normal and I was just being soft.
“Signs and symptoms are not ones that someone suffering from PTSD necessarily identifies straight away, people around you and clinicians see it before you do.”
The struggle of getting back to normality is ongoing, and Mr Iqbal said there are moments when his emotions take control, he suffers nightmares, lack of sleep and even suicidal thoughts.
He added: “Despite so many positive things happening within business and (my) personal life, I also have two young children (a three-year-old and a two-yearold) and for some reason I think of how easy it would be to just end things rather than have flashbacks and lack of sleep.”
...I think of how easy it would be to just end things rather than have flashbacks and lack of sleep.
For Mr Iqbal, the recruitment agency is another way to serve.
“I have spent many years serving my country and I will always continue to do so.
“The medication I take each day does help and seeing psychologists, staying positive and training can also help.
“I would say the symptoms are somewhat controlled now, however I have moments when emotions take control and nightmares.”
OppO Recruitment Ltd employs eight people at its Uxbridge headquarters, four of whom have served or continue to serve in the armed forces.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said of the Employer Recognition Scheme: “These awards recognise the outstanding support for our armed forces from employers across Britain and I would like to thank and congratulate each and every one.
“Regardless of size, location or sector, employing ex-forces personnel is good for business and this year we have doubled the number of awards in recognition of the fantastic support they give.”
The scheme encompasses bronze, silver and gold awards for employers.
The gold award for OppO Recruitment Ltd will be handed out on Tuesday November 12 at the National Army Museum in London.