Navigation
  • Inter Softech
  • World
  • National
  • Business
  • Education
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Health
  • More
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
    • Technology
    • Sports
Breaking News
  |  Indonesia says it will push back Rohingya refugees adrift on leaking boat   |  Plastic beads could make nets more visible to cetaceans, scientists say   |  Harry Reid, who led Senate Democrats for 12 years, dies at 82   |  Denver gunman who killed five in shooting rampage knew victims   |  Prince Andrew lawyer seeks to halt US case as accuser ‘lives in Australia’   |  Russian court orders closure of another human rights group   |  Hong Kong media outlet Stand News to close after police raid   |  Manipur NPP leader Letpao Haokip joins BJP   |  Jharkhand: Rs 25 per litre relief in price of fuel for two wheelers of the poor   |  19-year-old stabbed to death by friend’s father: Kerala Police   |  Akhilesh takes Lord Hanuman out on Vijay Yatra   |  Paul Bettany: having Johnny Depp texts read aloud in libel trial was ‘an unpleasant feeling’   |  Russian court increases jail sentence for Gulag historian   |  Jesus statue smashed in spate of attacks on India’s Christian community   |  Jean-Marc Vallée, director of Dallas Buyers Club, Wild and Big Little Lies, dies aged 58   |  Palma to limit cruise ships after environmental concerns   |  Donald Trump golf resorts claimed at least £3.3m in UK furlough support   |  Afghan ex-BBC journalist stranded for months due to Home Office scheme delays   |  England cricket capitulations have gone from car-crash to commonplace   |  Tennis star Denis Shapovalov tests positive for Covid after arriving in Sydney

Latest News

Afghan ex-BBC journalist stranded for months due to Home Office scheme delays

December 27, 2021
96

An Afghan former BBC journalist who managed to flee the Taliban has been stranded in a refugee camp for months because of delays to a resettlement scheme promised by the UK government.

Mudassar Kadir* is the only one of 14 former BBC employees to have escaped Afghanistan since the Taliban took over in August. The other 13 remain in hiding in fear of their lives.

Kadir, who also spent time working for the World Bank and the former Afghan government, had hoped he and his family could begin a new life after leaving Afghanistan, but since escaping in early October with the help of a US charity, Kadir and his wife and two young sons have been stuck in a refugee centre on the outskirts of Dubai.

The Kadirs are grateful to the United Arab Emirates for the safe haven and are being well looked afte, but they are prevented from straying more than 100m from the building and the UAE will not accept asylum applications.

Kadir is exasperated by the UK government’s repeated refusals in response to his request for help, and he still lives in fear of being sent back to Afghanistan where his work for the BBC has made him a target for the Taliban.

“The UK should have a duty of care to me and my family. My life is at risk because I have worked for the BBC. The UK government knows this but they have done nothing to help me,” he said.

“In the beginning we hoped that the UK would give me a visa, but now with each passing day my frustration grows.”

Campaigners say the family’s predicament highlights the plight of thousands of Afghan immigrants caught in limbo, unable to return home for fear of persecution and prevented from travelling anywhere willing to grant them refugee status.

The UK government has promised an Afghan citizens’ resettlement scheme (ACRS) to help as many as 5,000 people a year starting in January, alongside the existing more restrictive Afghanistan relocation and assistance policy (Arap).

Kadir does not qualify for Arap, which has helped fewer than 400 people so far, and he is unable apply for ACRS because it is yet to open and when it does will only accept referrals for resettlements from NGOs. Campaigners fear the UK government is deliberately delaying the implementation of the scheme in an effort to reduce numbers.

The Home Office denies this. “The ACRS is one of the most generous schemes in our country’s history and will give up to 20,000 further people at risk a new life in the UK,” a spokesperson said.

“We continue to work at pace to open the scheme amid a complex and changing picture, working across government and with partners such as UNHCR to design the scheme.” It refuses to discuss individual cases.

When asked to explain the delay, the Home Office said it was working on a system of “biometric enrolment” and eligibility checks to ensure those accepted did not pose a threat to national security.

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, which is representing Kadir and many others in the same predicament, says time is running out.

Its interim chief executive, Minnie Rahman, said: “Three months ago, our government promised a ‘warm welcome’ to Afghan refugees but increasingly it seems that there’s precious little welcome to be found.

“Like Kadir, many Afghans appear to have been shamefully abandoned by the British government, despite clear links to the UK. The resettlement scheme is still not open, family reunion routes are still extremely limited and our government seems unable to offer many who risked their lives working with us the refuge they so urgently need.”

The National Union of Journalists has been lobbying the government to help secure visas for all Afghan former BBC staff, including one who survived an armed attack on a relative’s home in October.

Its general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, said: “Whilst progress on the resettlement process happens at a snail’s pace, journalists affected are living in fear and being forced into hiding. We need urgent and robust measures put in place to secure safe passage to the UK for all those Afghans at such high risk.”

A spokesperson for the BBC said: “We have every sympathy with former staff, but we regret we are not in a position to extend our direct support to them.”

Kadir said: “My hope is that the UK government will fulfil their commitment towards me and my family. But right now it seems no one is paying attention to my case. Since arriving in the UAE two months ago there has been zero progress.”

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

facebookShare on Facebook
TwitterTweet
FollowFollow us

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Advertisment

Recent Posts

  • Indonesia says it will push back Rohingya refugees adrift on leaking boat
    Latest News, World
    December 29, 2021
    Indonesian authorities have said they will push a boat containing 120 Rohingya Muslims back to international waters despite fears that it could sink off the country’s northernmost province of Aceh. The boat was reportedly leaking, had a damaged […]
  • Plastic beads could make nets more visible to cetaceans, scientists say
    Latest News, World
    December 29, 2021
    Simple plastic beads could save the lives of some of the thousands of porpoises and other cetaceans that get caught in fishing nets each year, scientists say. Harbour porpoises use echolocation to find their prey and for orientation. However, their […]
  • Harry Reid, who led Senate Democrats for 12 years, dies at 82
    Latest News, World
    December 29, 2021
    Harry Reid, who emerged from the unforgiving political landscape of Las Vegas, Nevada, to lead the Senate Democrats for 12 turbulent years, died on Tuesday at age 82. Reid died Tuesday, “peacefully” and surrounded by friends “following a courageous, […]
  • Denver gunman who killed five in shooting rampage knew victims
    Latest News, World
    December 29, 2021
    A gunman who killed five people and injured two others in a series of shootings in Denver is believed to have targeted the victims based on previous personal and business dealings and was investigated by police twice in the last two years. Denver […]
  • Prince Andrew lawyer seeks to halt US case as accuser ‘lives in Australia’
    Latest News, World
    December 29, 2021
    Prince Andrew’s lawyer has called for the US civil case against the royal over alleged sexual assault to be stopped because his accuser is “actually domiciled in Australia”. Virginia Giuffre is suing the Queen’s son for allegedly assaulting her when […]
  • Russian court orders closure of another human rights group
    Latest News, World
    December 29, 2021
    A Russian court has ordered the closure of the Memorial Human Rights Centre (MHRC), a day after the supreme court revoked the legal status of its sister organisation, Memorial International. Moscow city court authorised the dissolution of the group […]
  • Hong Kong media outlet Stand News to close after police raid
    Latest News, World
    December 29, 2021
    The Hong Kong pro-democracy media outlet Stand News has said it will shut down after police raided its offices earlier in the day and arrested senior staff on suspicion of “conspiracy to publish seditious publications”. “Because of the situation, […]
  • Manipur NPP leader Letpao Haokip joins BJP
    Latest News, National
    December 29, 2021
    Manipur minister and NPP leader Letpao Haokip on Thursday joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Bhupender Yadav. NPP is BJP’s ally in Manipur and Haokip is the youth affairs and sports minister in the BJP-led government in the state. […]
  • Jharkhand: Rs 25 per litre relief in price of fuel for two wheelers of the poor
    Latest News, National
    December 29, 2021
    Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren Wednesday announced concession of Rs 25 per litre on petrol and diesel prices for two wheelers owned by the poor in the state from Republic Day next year. Soren made the announcement on it on the completion of […]
  • 19-year-old stabbed to death by friend’s father: Kerala Police
    Latest News, National
    December 29, 2021
    A 19-year-old man, who went to meet his friend at her house, was stabbed to death by her father in the wee hours of Wednesday here, police said. Police identified the victim as Aneesh George. He was stabbed to death at the house of Simon Lalu. […]
  • Akhilesh takes Lord Hanuman out on Vijay Yatra
    Latest News, National, Politics
    December 29, 2021
    Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav is on a Rath Yatra to boost his chances to return to power in Uttar Pradesh next year. Rath Yatra holds a special political significance in Uttar Pradesh politics. It was a Rath Yatra by veteran Bharatiya […]
  • Paul Bettany: having Johnny Depp texts read aloud in libel trial was ‘an unpleasant feeling’
    Latest News, World
    December 27, 2021
    The actor Paul Bettany has spoken for the first time about having the text messages exchanged between himself and Johnny Depp concerning Amber Heard read out at Depp’s libel trial. Bettany, who is currently promoting A Very British Scandal, told the […]
  • Russian court increases jail sentence for Gulag historian
    Latest News, World
    December 27, 2021
    A Russian court has increased a jail sentence for the Gulag historian Yury Dmitriyev to a total of 15 years on charges his supporters say are punishment for his work exposing Stalin-era crimes. Supporters say Dmitriyev, 65, is being targeted because […]
  • Jesus statue smashed in spate of attacks on India’s Christian community
    Latest News, World
    December 27, 2021
    Festive celebrations were disrupted, Jesus statues were smashed and effigies of Santa Claus were burned in a spate of attacks on India’s Christian community over Christmas. Amid growing intolerance and violence against India’s Christian minority, […]
  • Jean-Marc Vallée, director of Dallas Buyers Club, Wild and Big Little Lies, dies aged 58
    Latest News, World
    December 27, 2021
    Jean-Marc Vallée, the Canadian director best known for his work on Matthew McConaughey drama Dallas Buyers Club, has died aged 58. Vallée’s representative, Bumble Ward, said he died suddenly over the weekend in his cabin outside Quebec City. His two […]
  • Palma to limit cruise ships after environmental concerns
    Latest News, World
    December 27, 2021
    Officials in the Balearic Islands will seek to limit cruise ships to a maximum of three vessels a day at its largest port, in a deal described as the first of its kind in Spain. The regional government said in a statement that arrivals at Palma in […]
  • Donald Trump golf resorts claimed at least £3.3m in UK furlough support
    Latest News, World
    December 27, 2021
    Donald Trump’s loss-making Scottish golf resorts claimed in excess of £3.3m in emergency support from the UK government, to help furlough staff during the Covid pandemic. Company accounts for the former president’s resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire […]
  • Afghan ex-BBC journalist stranded for months due to Home Office scheme delays
    Latest News, World
    December 27, 2021
    An Afghan former BBC journalist who managed to flee the Taliban has been stranded in a refugee camp for months because of delays to a resettlement scheme promised by the UK government. Mudassar Kadir* is the only one of 14 former BBC employees to […]
  • England cricket capitulations have gone from car-crash to commonplace
    Latest News, Sports
    December 26, 2021
    Typical: Christmas evening, you turn on the television and it’s another bloody repeat. Although in fairness to England, pick through the dental records of their latest Ashes capitulation and you might just be able to identify a few distinguishing […]
  • Tennis star Denis Shapovalov tests positive for Covid after arriving in Sydney
    Latest News, Sports
    December 26, 2021
    Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov has announced he has tested positive for Covid-19 after arriving in Sydney ahead of the Australian Open. The 22-year-old is one of the first overseas players to arrive in Australia and is part of Canada’s team […]

Categories

  • Business (8)
  • Crime (11)
  • Education (1)
  • Health (7)
  • Latest News (396)
  • Lifestyle (6)
  • National (100)
  • Odisha (24)
  • Politics (24)
  • Sports (19)
  • Uncategorized (2)
  • World (209)

© Inter Softech 2021 - All rights reserved. Designed by Inter Softech

MENU
  • Intersoftech
  • World
  • National
  • Business
  • Education
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
Web Design BangladeshBangladesh Online Market