Lewisham’s Afghan leader warns against promises of the Taliban
By Callum Cuddeford, Local Democracy Reporter
An Afghan community leader who left his Afghanistan homeland for Lewisham today said the situation is “unbelievable” as he warned against Taliban promises.
Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi escaped the Taliban in 1999 after his education made him a target, he was considered a traitor for studying in the Ukraine.
He came to the UK with his family in a refrigerated lorry, settling in London after being greeted by the UK Border Agency.
Today he thinks despite their promise of reform the Taliban are worse than 2001.
He said: “I have seen from the past few days they have hanged officers and soldiers, activists.
“There are cases of the Taliban beating people on the street.
“Women are sitting at home; they can’t go out. School has already been banned.”
He also shared his pain at seeing the horrific pictures of people falling from flights in a bid to escape the brutal regime.
He added: “No-one has experienced a similar picture in history.”
He was also disappointed with the number of Afghans promised repatriation in Wednesday’s emergency debate in parliament.
He said: “For Hong Kong the UK got two million people home, and for Afghanistan only 20,000. It is not fair.
“The majority so far are British, those on holiday and those in the embassy. Among those people only some are refugees.
“The process taking place is very very slow.”
The British Citizen Award winner setup the Afghan and Central Asian Association in 2001 in Lewisham to help Afghan refugees integrate into the UK, they still run ESOL classes in Deptford.
He believes getting money to Afghans must be top of the agenda in the coming weeks after missing opportunities 20 years ago.
He added: “If these scenes were happening in any other country we could secure millions of dollars, but Afghans do not understand donations and crowdfunding.
“We can send money through our members of staff and distribute it to the right people who deserve it, the Taliban won’t know where the money comes from.”
Next year Dr Nasimi hopes to run for the Conservative Party in council elections in Hounslow, along with other members of his family this would make him the first Afghan to hold a seat in British politics.
He said: “The biggest problem in the UK is the lack of representation in local politics. There are so many things happening in Afghanistan, but we do not have a voice.”
The emergency debate on Wednesday saw the government receive criticism from all sides for their handling of the withdrawal.
Main Picture: Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi (right) held a meeting with senior British Afghans, including ex-general Abdul Wahid Khuram (left), to discuss the worsening security situation this month