Few weeks ago, Asian Voice reported about the looming crisis that could endanger girls, women and children in Afghanistan when the Taliban demanded a list of women, they could marry their soldiers too. In the viral videos of men falling off the sky from an aeroplane, airport runways packed with desperate refugees who want to save their lives, the worst has come true.
Netizens asked, “Where are the women?” There was almost a negligible number of women in those airport videos and pictures. Most of them are now in the Taliban’s custody. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, a survivor of brutalities in Pakistan has said, “I urge the Security Council to pass a resolution to protect Afghan women, girls and minorities.” We also wrote about Dr Waheed Arian, an ex-refugee from Afghanistan who came to the UK with 100 dollars in his pocket and today, is a doctor at the NHS. He has shared multiple live accounts of danger and distress on his social media account since 15 August. When Asian Voice reached out to an Afghan Chevening Scholar, the student replied saying their close family members were stuck in Kabul which made the scholar feel unwell. In the future, history may not be kind to the current perpetrators of violence and inhumanity, but legend has it that a total of 457 British personnel died, including 32 from Wales, after NATO forces entered the country in 2001. What’s worth reflecting on is how many soldiers from an ethnic minority background, especially Gurkhas who served in the British Army in Afghanistan fought for, what we may potentially call, a lost cause. Britain may have a blurred memory, but the custodians of the community have managed to keep those memories alive so that we never forget the contribution.
Gurkhas did not fight in Afghanistan for a lost cause
Maj (retd) Tikendra Dal Dewan JP, Chair, British Gurkha Welfare Society has a positive outlook towards the contribution and thinks that it may not be a lost cause after all. He told Asian Voice, “The contribution can be gauged by the fact that Gurkhas have been an integral part of the British Army as early as the East India days and goes over 207 years. They have fought in every battle that the British Army has been engaged in and that goes even before the great wars.
“The 13 Victoria Crosses and the plethora of battle honours and awards speak volumes of their contribution to not only the British Army but the Indian Army as well. Afghanistan as history stands testament is a land of the Afghans and no foreign power has ever won or survived but for Alexander the Great.
“I would not say the sacrifices and contributions are a lost cause as the intervention did save lots of lives and maintained peace albeit it temporary as it now seems. Sadly soldiers are always the pawns in the political agenda, take Vietnam for example the hundreds of thousands of soldiers sacrificed but looking at Vietnam and the relationship with America all seems in vain.
“The inequality amounts to institutional discrimination but the good end to it is, at last, all the lobbying for equality and justice have at least now ensured that the current serving Gurkhas are on equal footing with the rest of the British Army in all aspects. The fight for equality continues and two Gurkha veterans including a widow are now on their 10th day of hunger strike right outside 10 Downing Street, if this does not wake up the UK government then the discrimination is confirmed.”
Too hasty withdrawal
Commenting on the Afghan refugee crisis, MP Virendra Sharma told the newsweekly, “The ongoing crisis in Afghanistan brings shame on the coalition allies that have left the country in this situation. The US, UK and allies needed to stand with the legitimate government of Afghanistan, and continue to protect women, girls and minorities in the country. A too hasty withdrawal has wasted the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers and civilians already killed in the conflict. British soldiers of South-Asian heritage and Gurkha troops have given their lives and the lost peace in Afghanistan is an insult to them.”
UK withdraws aid
As the Taliban captured the capital city Kabul, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab indicated that the UK could withhold aid to Afghanistan to hold the Taliban to account. According to the government data, the UK has so far spent £292 million on bilateral aid in Afghanistan in 2019 but has allocated £93.8 million for the 2021-2022 financial year. Above this, there’s an additional Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office humanitarian crisis reserve which is worth £30 million.
No time to waste
Popular Muslim woman activist, Zehra Zaidi told us, “Thanks to our lobbying, MP briefings, work on the ground, article and petition, it looks as if Afghan women and girls will be prioritised under the Government’s asylum programme. But there is no time to waste as many women lawyers, NGO workers, human rights activists, politicians and journalists are already on Taliban hit lists and we may need to rely on third countries to get them out. We cannot lose a whole generation of talent. Women risk losing their dreams and all that they worked for; they may have to leave behind their homeland - but we must not take away their hope and chance to rebuild. We must not betray them.”
In a statement shared with us by Khaled Hosseini, Afghan-American novelist and UNHCR goodwill ambassador, he commented on the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan saying, “I have watched the developments in Afghanistan with great sadness. I am deeply disappointed and gravely concerned for the country. The last twenty years have been challenging, but the painstaking progresses made are now threatened. The US and the international community at large must take steps to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. They must exert pressure on the Taliban to respect the essential human rights of Afghans, particularly women and girls, and to refrain from using violence against Afghan citizens.”
On-ground report and helplessness in Kabul
Speaking to Asian Voice, Ravi Singh, CEO Khalsa Aid said that many citizens were awaiting some sort of airlift around the country. “They are desperate to have some confirmation or when we'll take them out the country,” he said as he tried to connect with his sources in Kabul.
Sharing what he knew at that moment about the situation in Kabul, Singh said, “The people in Kabul are quite frightened, they are nervous. A Taliban has representative has assured them that they're not in danger at all. If these guys want to leave, they would be lifted out of the country.”
Describing his worry of not being able to do much despite having all the required material resources to help, the Khalsa Aid CEO told us, “We keep in touch with them via phone every hour. There’s chaos now at the airport. We can't send anyone from any other part of the world, only governments or military can go in. There are very limited options. We, unfortunately, can’t get into the country, it is a very difficult situation because people are anxious, scared and frightened. We have the means and money, but we are not the government or a military agency, so we can't just fly in and take them out.”
Blocked visas, uncertain scholarships
As panic stirred around students, especially Chevening Scholars who were due to come to the UK from Afghanistan, along with Labour MP and co-chair Paul Bromfield, Lord Karan Bilimoria wrote a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel urging them to do everything possible to support this year’s Chevening Award winners from as well as any other international student from Afghanistan who wishes to study in the UK. “Women can be educated up to university level,” a Taliban spokesperson meanwhile told Sky. However, the blocking of visas of Afghans to the UK still remains a point of contention.
On Tuesday, Home Secretary Priti Patel shared an update on the support that the UK is providing to Afghans and said, “We're working hard to resettle more people more quickly via our Afghan Relocations & Assistance Policy: 2,000 ex-Afghan staff & their families resettled so far since 22 June. Vital national security checks on all applications. Accelerating checks where possible. Anyone who fails these checks will be refused entry to the UK.”
As the situation for civilians in Afghanistan worsens, UK for UNHCR has launched an urgent appeal for funds so that the UN Refugee Agency can continue delivering support for displaced people across the country.
Emma Cherniavsky, Chief Executive of UK for UNHCR, said: “As we witness the heartbreaking and harrowing scenes in Kabul and across Afghanistan, we are deeply concerned that more and more people will be displaced in the coming days. UNHCR is on the ground delivering essential aid, but more support is needed urgently.”
People can donate and find out more at www.unrefugees.org.uk/afghanistan
Pension inequality among Gurkhas
Virendra Sharma MP has shown his strong support to the Gurkha community in their fight for equal pension rights today by visiting the hunger strikers outside of 10 Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence. The hunger strikers, led by prominent campaigner Gyanrai Raj, are calling for pension equality with other British Army veterans. The Gurkha Pension Scheme is designed for retirement in Nepal, where the cost of living is exceptionally lower than in the United Kingdom, and many Gurkhas have chosen by right to retire in the UK.
As well as visiting the hunger strikers and showing his solidarity Virendra Sharma MP, who is also the Chair of the Nepal All-Party Parliamentary Group, organised a cross-party letter to the Prime Minister, urging his intervention in this issue. In the letter, which has since been signed by dozens of parliamentarians, calls on the Government to find “a solution that leaves Gurkha veterans feeling valued, and their service recognised. Currently, that is not the case.”
“We write to ask you to meet Gyanraj Rai, Dhan Bahadur Gurung, and Pushpa Ghale Rana to discuss their concerns and the concerns of the thousands of veterans and tens of thousands that support their campaign”.
Virendra Sharma MP said, “Gurkhas are truly an elite fighting force held in high esteem by the British Army and the public. Veterans such as Gyanraj and others have given everything for the defence and security of this country. Yet, what reward is there for their tremendous sacrifice?
“The Prime Minister and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace must engage with the Gurkhas outside Downing Street, which could well save the lives of those on hunger strike. They must do the right thing and give the Gurkhas the pension equality they rightfully deserve.”
