A Debt of Honour (Afghan Interpreters)
Ladies & Gentlemen,
A few days ago I wrote the letter below to a national newspaper in the UK but it was not published.
As a significant number of people who view/post on this Forum are ex-military and probably believe that you don't abandon those who put their necks out for you, I wonder what others views might be on this 'plea' from me.
I understand that the US allowed many Vietnamese to resettle in the USA when the Vietnam War ran down and I think it goes against the grain not to give sanctuary to those to whom I refer. Incidentally, I proposed that the hijackers to whom I refer in my letter, should have been allowed to stay in UK only after they had completed a tour of duty as interpreters in their own country. My view was treated as heresy and the idea was seen as obscene!
Sir,
Much has been written and said about immigration and the need to control/manage same. This is frequently in the context of those from central European countries and despite assurances to the contrary, is a genuine concern to many.
There is one relatively small group of people about whom nothing is heard and who will probably need and deserve help in the near future: I refer to those employed by the armed forces in Afghanistan, mainly as interpreters. These people will be in grave danger after our departure from their country and will face intimidation, violence and reprisals of many sorts, in a country where a ‘revenge culture’ in endemic.
It behoves the Government to make arrangements for these people to be offered permanent sanctuary here or elsewhere and assisted in their resettlement, if they wish help. It would be morally unacceptable to simply abandon these Afghans to their fate and, given that a bunch of Afghan aircraft hijackers were permitted to remain in this country about a decade ago, there is no alternative.
The outcome for the pet dogs, which squaddies always attract when overseas, does not bear thinking about.
Yours sincerely
Old Duffer