Safe in Britain, hero Afghan translator and family
FIVE days ago Hash and his family were in Afghanistan hiding from Taliban gunmen who had vowed to kill him because of his brave work with British forces.
Yesterday the 37-year-old translator and his wife Sagofa, 34, were a world away, playing with sons Zahid, two, and four-month-old Buhran in a small park on the edge of Manchester.
‘We are safe now and I thank the Daily Mail for helping to make this happen,’ said Sagofa. ‘For many years it seemed an impossible dream but now it has come true – to know your husband and children are really safe is a wonderful gift.’
The family were among three dozen who escaped this week and flew to the UK on the first ‘Freedom Flight’ of Afghans
BETRAYAL OF THE BRAVE
under threat from the Taliban because of their work for Britain.
The arrival of Hash and his colleagues was a major victory for this newspaper’s award-winning Betrayal of the Brave campaign which has repeatedly called for men who stood shoulder to shoulder with UK troops to be given sanctuary.
‘Without your hard work this would not have happened and we will always be grateful,’ said Hash, who risked his life with the SAS and frontline troops for five years in Helmand province.
‘Living in fear takes a dreadful toll but over the past few days we have gone from wondering if the knock at the door is the Taliban coming for us to knowing it is some kind person bringing us our breakfast. It is extraordinary to finally know the meaning of being able to relax. I have slept like a baby for the first time in nine years since I stopped working with UK forces.’
The couple, who were pictured in Wednesday’s Mail before the historic flight from Afghanistan to the UK, are in quarantine with other interpreter families at a Manchester hotel. Each day, they are allowed to exercise in a small park on the hotel’s grounds.
Once quarantine and Covid testing are complete, the family will live in Glasgow. Others in their group will be in English cities.
Hash thanked the UK Government and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace for changing policy to allow more translators to relocate to the UK but said: ‘Please be generous to my colleagues. Many still face danger in Afghanistan.’
With the final withdrawal of US and UK forces on September 11, it is hoped around 3,500 Afghans, including hundreds of interpreters and their families, will be rescued.