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TeaThe walls have been painted a new bright white and the floors are clean. But despite it being a gray winter’s day outside, all the windows in this two-bed flat in west London are open.
There is no visible mold, but Abdul’s family, including his pregnant wife Ayesha, have been having difficulty breathing due to the dampness in the property since moving in in October. The windows are open to bring fresh air into the flat.
of his 11 year old son asthmaWhat is usually controlled has become much worse, he said. When he was having difficulty breathing a few weeks ago, Abdul took him to the emergency department at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital – fearing her son’s medications were not enough to cope with his living conditions.
Abdul, a former Afghan special forces soldier who fought with the British, had dreamed of the day he could bring his family to Britain and was thrilled when it happened in August.
He served with an elite Afghan unit called Afghan Territorial Force 444. One of two units set up and paid for by the British to staff Britain’s best people Armed forces. In the chaos of the West’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, many of the people who worked closest with Britain were left behind, with dozens of allies killed, kidnapped or tortured by the Taliban.
While the Ministry of Defense (MOD) set up resettlement pathways for those who served with the British, mistakes led to hundreds of applications for sanctuary from Afghans with credible links to special forces units being wrongly rejected.
The government is reviewing thousands of these applications Independent, With Lighthouse Reports and Sky News, Highlighted how they are being denied help. High Court judges found that These Afghan commandos were released due to faulty decision-making.
Abdul managed to flee Afghanistan after the withdrawal of coalition forces in 2015, but his application to come to Britain was initially rejected – despite risking his life to work with British troops.
He lived in fear of deportation to Europe, sometimes becoming homeless, before he was granted asylum in August this year through the resettlement scheme of the Defense Ministry in the country where he served.
However the move means facing the reality of trying to make a life in Britain with less support. Unlike some of his former colleagues who are also here, Abdul can speak English well, but he is still struggling to understand his new living situation.
There is little to do during the day and he is unsure where he can go in search of activities for his two spirited sons, ages 11 and 5. He is willing to work and enroll his children in school, but wants to do so only after they have a settled household. A friend of Abdul in UK, Alex Isaac, a former paratrooper Those who fought alongside him are trying to help him build a new life in Britain, and call him every night to provide support. He has offered her a job as a groundworks apprentice at his construction company in Ipswich, but the family is unable to afford the deposit to start renting privately in the area.
Abdul said that efforts are being made to seek help from the council and home office The deposit was unsuccessful with funding. after Independent By contacting the local council, they were able to start the process of helping Abdul and his family move to Ipswich. A Home Office source said the council had also agreed to pay the deposit.
While Abdul said she has received little support from her council support worker since the family moved to the property in Fulham, a spokesperson for Hammersmith and Fulham said they have helped her with furniture and household items, financial support, school places for the children and support from GP and maternity services.
The council said Abdul had twice refused to allow private landlord contractors to carry out repairs, but Abdul said they only wanted to make temporary improvements that would not solve habitability problems.
A Hammersmith and Fulham Council spokesperson said: “We have a long and proud history of going above and beyond to support refugees, helping over 120 Afghan refugees into new homes and securing school places this year.
“Abdul has asked to be moved to Ipswich, and we are working with the Home Office and the family to support.”
Local authorities are able to claim £24,110 per Afghan over three years from the government to provide “integration assistance”. Additional money can also be claimed by the council to help children with their education, with payments of up to £5,130 per child aged five to 18. Local healthcare providers are also able to claim government funding per Afghan refugee.
The flat the local council has found for the family is very minimal, with just a bed for Abdul and his wife, a bunk bed for their children, a table and a sofa, and a few belongings to make the place their home. He said the government, through Abdul’s housing benefit, is paying the landlord £1,850 a month for the property.
The family is not using the washing machine because they say their clothes start smelling because of mold in the machine, meaning Abdul’s wife Ayesha is washing their clothes by hand. While they are able to use the fridge, the sealant around the door is moldy and cracked.
He told that the toilet sink is also leaking and the bathroom often smells. The sons have refused to sleep on their bunk beds at times because they find cockroaches in the room, and the corners of the carpet easily pull up, creating worrisome trip hazards.
Because staying inside makes it difficult for them to breathe, families often spend hours sitting in a nearby small park or walking around the local shopping center.
His wife Ayesha is pregnant and is having trouble breathing. A letter of support from the local community midwife details her concerns about the family’s living conditions.
“The property has leaks, dampness, stains and insect infestation,” the letter said. ,[Abdul] She showed me some photographs taken during the babysitter’s work, including photographs of two children aged 11 and 5 having multiple insect bites.
It added: “I ask that their case be given urgent priority for the well-being of the entire family… It is essential that the family be provided with alternative suitable accommodation that meets their needs and promotes a safe and healthy environment for the parents, young children and the newborn.”
Abdul said: “We’re not seeking luxury accommodation. I want to be able to support myself. I’ve already found an Ipswich property, where the rent is hundreds less. If we could move there we would save the government money. No one should be paying this amount of money for this property because it’s not suitable.
“My son used to have asthma, but not like this. When we come to this property, he always uses the emergency inhaler. We are using both inhalers all the time.
“My wife is also having trouble breathing now and she is pregnant. The children are afraid to sleep in their rooms because there were cockroaches in their rooms. They are awake at night because they are scared and they have no desk or place to do homework. There is also a bad smell in the flat.”
He further said, “My wife and I are under a lot of stress, I don’t know what to do in this situation.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This Government is committed to delivering on our country’s commitment to the brave Afghans who supported the United Kingdom’s mission in Afghanistan.
“Any concerns about accommodation should be informed to the local authority. We work closely with them to ensure that every family gets the support they need.”