Monthly Archives: September 2021

Afghanistan, Britain, Government, Society

Abandoned Afghan interpreters paying smugglers to flee

AFGHANISTAN

FORMER British military translators have been forced to turn to people smugglers to escape Afghanistan as the Taliban wages a murderous vendetta against those who helped the West.

At least three interpreters who worked on the front lines have handed over thousands of pounds to be smuggled out of their homeland.

They say they would rather gamble with the perilous illegal routes run by traffickers than risk being caught by the Taliban.

The fears of those who risked their lives beside UK troops have been fuelled by executions, beatings and house-to-house searches in Kabul and surrounding areas.

One former translator was taken by Taliban gunmen from his home and held in a tiny cell, accused of working for the British, while a 30-year-old ex-interpreter said his mother was beaten during a search for him last week.

The fear has seen a boom in business for human traffickers, increasing by 150 per cent since the Taliban took Kabul last month.

The three men, two of whom took their families with them, said they had no alternative but to turn to the smugglers, joining thousands of Afghans paying up to £20,000 for a family to reach countries such as France and Germany. It costs even more to get to the UK.

They are now in Iran, waiting to hear when they can move on.

Using WhatsApp, smugglers plot the route of the refugees – who they call “guests” – on separate legs of journeys from Afghanistan either via Pakistan or directly into Iran and on to Turkey. Separate teams of smugglers then orchestrate travel through Europe.

Prices for various stages of the journey are increasing rapidly as demand rises, starting with an initial £2,000 per adult from Afghanistan through Pakistan and on to Iran and £1,100 to get to Turkey.

An option involving visas and flights from Pakistan to Turkey costs around £10,000. From there, one route involves going by boat to Italy for around £8,000. The former UK military translators now in hiding in Iran are expected to be joined shortly by more Afghans who worked with British troops.

Many Afghan translators and interpreters failed to make RAF mercy flights to the UK after the fall of Kabul despite promises they would be given safe refuge in the UK. Afghan interpreters and translators feel betrayed by Britain despite the allegiance they gave to the British military in the 20-year war that ended in humiliation for the West.

One of the translators, Khan, 30, who worked for the Electronic Warfare Unit for two years, was taken to hospital after being shot in an ambush he blamed on the Taliban. He was rejected for relocation after being dismissed for using drugs.

Another of the ex-interpreters, Ahmad, 35, speaking from close to the Turkish border, said people smugglers had presented his family with “hope” as staying in his home city of Kandahar meant “possible death”. He said he plans to get to Germany where he has a brother.

The third, aged 34, who worked for the UK military for three years, is too frightened to be named while in Iran, where Afghan translators have also been killed.

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Britain, Government, Society, Transport

Plastic and paper driving licences could be phased out

TRANSPORT

DIGITAL driving licences could be introduced from 2022 – raising the prospect that traditional physical documents could be phased out.

A trial will involve learners’ provisional licences being made available in electronic form, including through an app.

It has been revealed by the UK Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, who disclosed that it was part of post-Brexit plans to make transport “fairer, greener and more efficient”.

If the trial is successful, it is understood full driving licences could also be digitised.

The move is part of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s strategic plan for 2021–2024, meaning digital licences may not be available until 2024. Although the DVLA said plastic cards would continue to be available, it has raised fears officials will “switch the whole thing digital”. The trial start date has not yet been decided.

Motoring groups have said this would be disastrous for older drivers without internet access or who struggle online. AA president Edmund King said: “We envisage that many, particularly older drivers, will want to stick to paper or card driving licences as they don’t all have mobile phones.

“Digital driving may suit many, but it should sit alongside the traditional driving licences for some time to come.”

A spokesperson for the charity RAC Foundation, said: “The risk is that the more personal data we store on our phones, the more tempting a target they become for thieves and hackers.”

The Department of Transport said development of digital licences was prevented before Brexit due to prohibitions under EU law.

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Government, Justice, Policing, Scotland, Society

Justice has been forgotten, say furious police

POLICE SCOTLAND

OFFICERS have warned that justice has been “largely forgotten” during the pandemic in a bombshell report on the police service.

The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) insists victims are “of lesser importance” than criminals, with a seven-year backlog meaning many cases will not come to court. The federation represents officers up to and including the rank of chief inspector, some 98% of the force.

The blistering attack has been made by frontline officers in a written submission to Holyrood’s justice committee.

Critics accused the SNP Government of a “soft-touch approach to justice”.

Emergency laws were brought in last year cracking down on travel and large house parties to limit the spread of coronavirus. But the federation warns the move simply “stoked up tensions”, while the impact of the pandemic meant suspects have evaded justice.

In the damning submission, published within the last few days, general secretary Calum Steele said: “The administration of justice has largely been forgotten about during this pandemic. Prisoners were released, suspects for serious offences were rarely kept in custody, those who assaulted police officers were often home in their beds before the officers themselves finished work.

“Politicians played fast and loose with their language, stoking up tensions on issues like mass gatherings, in the full knowledge this made the policing of such events more challenging.

“Victims of crime were considered of lesser importance than the perpetrators of crime in the policies that fell from the Covid response.”

Criticising Police Scotland, he said: “Despite a number of internal warnings before the pandemic was declared, the service failed to respond timeously. The internal bureaucracy and turgid decision-making meant the police service was on the back foot.”

Police officers had been “unnecessarily exposed to enhanced risk of contracting the virus as a direct result of their duties.”

He added that emergency laws brought in to limit social contact during the first wave were “opaque and often unenforceable”. He said: “Police officers have throughout this pandemic felt neglected and unsupported by government.”

There is no doubt, that police officers and staff have given unstinting public service during the pandemic. This bombshell submission has openly revealed the burden they have carried throughout Covid.

However, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We do not recognise, and disagree with, much of the content of this submission [by the Scottish Police Federation]. Public trust and confidence in policing has remained strong throughout the pandemic as officers and staff stepped forward with commitment and professionalism to tackle the spread of coronavirus.”

The Scottish Government said: “No one should be the victim of abuse or violence at work. Assaults on police officers are despicable and the Scottish Government fully supports courts having their current extensive powers to deal robustly with perpetrators.”

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