In a parliamentary briefing, nine expert groups on Afghanistan criticized the UK government’s resettlement programs as “unduly restrictive”. They said it is deeply troubling that the government is not currently providing safe passage for many Afghan women and girls or oppressed minority groups. The government has launched two schemes, the Afghanistan Resettlement and Assistance Policy (Arap), which has brought 10,100 eligible Afghans to the UK, and the Afghan National Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), which will allow up to 20,000 to settle here. But the plans’ failures, according to the report, forced Afghans to use dangerous unofficial routes. In the first three months of 2022, people fleeing Afghanistan were the largest group risking their lives across the Channel. “One year since the UK withdrew from Afghanistan, Mr [Arap] the system is still not working properly and is marred by ongoing substantive and procedural problems,” says the briefing, which was compiled by Human Rights Watch, the Sulha Alliance – which represents Afghan interpreters – the charity Azadi and a group of former civil servants called Afghanistan Diplomacy and the Development Alliance, among others. Their concerns were echoed by British organizations that worked with Afghans to achieve the stated goals of the UK mission in the country and criticized the implementation of resettlement programs as arbitrary and needlessly malicious. Of the 250 former members of Adam Smith International who worked on UK projects in Afghanistan and applied for Arap, just 24 were granted permission to relocate to the UK. Not a single application has been approved since the evacuation of Kabul ended at the end of August 2021. Daniel Pimlott, director at Adam Smith International, said: “Most people we have been in contact with have heard little or nothing from the UK Government and a small minority have had their applications refused.” Afghan migrants rescued at sea arrive in Catania, Italy. Photo: Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images He questioned the seemingly illogical nature of who received resettlement under Arab. One person was told he was “ineligible” despite doing similar work to seven colleagues whose applications were all successful. Pimlott added: “It’s a shame the UK has left these people behind in Afghanistan, God knows what future.” Among those who remain stranded in fear of their lives is a group of 109 teachers who worked for the British Council in the country delivering lessons on diversity and promoting the values ​​of tolerance and openness. Despite being granted immediate permission by the UK government to apply online to come to Britain, the teachers have no idea how to escape safely or a date by which they will be taken out of Afghanistan. Joseph Seaton, a former English headmaster and deputy director of the British Council in Afghanistan between 2016 and 2020, said the failure to help teachers had “sourned” the legacy of his efforts in the country. “A lot of the work we did really benefited the local people and contributed to the gradual improvement of Afghanistan. However, the failure of the British Council and the UK Government to ensure the safety of their teachers has massively tarnished his great work in the country,” said Seaton. One of the teachers, Mahmoud, described how his work as a full-time British Council employee in eastern Afghanistan promoting “British values ​​of democracy, including equality, diversity and inclusion” had left him in hiding. Even before the emergency evacuation from Kabul – which began on 14 August 2021 – Mahmoud had been sent two threatening letters by the Taliban, one warning that he was a “UK government spy” and that his “killing was legal ». He said: “Since then the Taliban invaded my house and I have moved 11 times. The Taliban whipped my then eight-year-old daughter to get her to tell where I was.” The parliamentary briefing said it was worrying that Afghan women and girls and oppressed minority groups who were not eligible for Arap and could not access ACRS had to wait immediately after the August 15 deadline for “expressions of interest” in the so-called pathway three element of the ACRS program “while their condition further deteriorates”. It recommends expanding the Arap scheme, ensuring the UK accelerates safe passage for eligible Afghans from Afghanistan and expanding the ACRS beyond the current cap of 20,000. Concern also surrounds the plight of many Afghans in the UK who have managed to escape Taliban rule. About 10,500 are now living in hotels almost a year after their arrival. Human Rights Watch’s briefing warns that large numbers of Afghans trapped in temporary housing face serious mental health problems. A man evacuated from Afghanistan who worked for the UK aid program and who has spent almost a year living in a hotel in north-west England told the Observer: “They’ve completely forgotten about us.” He added: “Having worked for many years for the British Government in Afghanistan, I am heartbroken and ashamed that their flagship resettlement policies have failed so badly. “One year later, we have not received any communication from the government about what will happen next and we are staying in a hotel. I often wonder if I would have been better off staying in Afghanistan and facing my fate at the hands of the Taliban.” A Home Office spokesman said: “The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it and, through the new ACRS, up to 20,000 people in need will be welcomed to the UK. ACRS will prioritize those who have helped the UK’s efforts in Afghanistan and championed values ​​such as democracy, women’s rights and freedom of speech, as well as vulnerable people, including women and girls and members of minority groups at risk. “ The British Council statement said: “We know that our former colleagues are living in increasingly desperate conditions. We are incredibly concerned for them and their families’ well-being and continue to be in direct contact with them on a regular basis. “Relocation programs in Afghanistan are led by the UK government. We have been pressing for progress with senior contacts within the UK Government to ensure our ex-contractors’ relocation applications are dealt with in a timely manner.”