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Afghan father who studied in UK has ‘gone underground’ as family hides from Taliban

Azfaar says that all food shopping has to be done by female members of the family who can wear a veil to hide their faces

An Afghan man who attended university in the UK says he has been forced to go “underground” in Kabul as he and his family fear they are targets for the Taliban.

Azfaar, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, says that all food shopping has to be done by female members of the family who can wear a veil to hide their faces.

“My strong affiliation to the UK, 16 years of British education, and whole way of life is in complete contrast to the Taliban,” Azfaar told i.

“The fact I do not have command over the local languages (Dari and Pashto), my ethnicity (Hazara), and background make my family a target to the Taliban. We could easily be misinterpreted and misidentified as British spies.”

The former Manchester-based student is appealing to the UK government to issue valid travel documents so he can leave Afghanistan.

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Azfaar fled the impending civil war in Afghanistan with his family in 1992, when he was four years old, and resettled in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“We lived in the UAE for a long time,” he said. “I attended and completed my schooling from a British school in summer 2006.”

Following in the footsteps of his father, Azfaar came to the UK to attend university in Manchester and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Salford.

“I worked part-time at the Manchester United Football Club while I was a student and then full-time at The Trafford Centre on a Post-Study Work permit,” the now 34-year-old said.

In 2015, when Azfaar was 27, he decided to move back to Afghanistan. “My parents had moved back there a year earlier after being expelled by the UAE due to simmering tension between Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi,” he said.

“I saw these unfortunate events as a timely opportunity for me to get to know and explore my family roots while contributing to its young democratic transition and development.”

He joined a leading, private university in Kabul as an assistant professor, teaching management modules. Later, he joined a telecommunications company and worked in private sector institutions.

Since his workplace shut down after the fall of Kabul, Azfaar has been in hiding with his wife and two young boys, aged five and three.

“Now, my daily routine has become one of survival and trying to stay alive while I have gone completely underground,” Azfaar said. “For food and groceries, fully veiled female members of the family, accompanied by children attend local shops and the market. Our finances are depleting due to rampant inflation and devaluation of the local currency, but since we had some good saving, we should be okay for a couple of months.”

While Azfaar has yet to receive any direct threats, as he has been in hiding since the Taliban takeover, he is increasingly worried. “There are reports coming out from friends, colleagues and media reports that Taliban are actively hunting for ex-government employees and western affiliated individuals,” he said.

“They have directed local councils and mosques to keep them informed on local residents and suspicious individuals for safety and security of their respective communities however we understand these efforts are mere cover for identification and rounding up of individuals who they deem a threat to their rule.”

Given the hostile and suspicious environment, Azfaar only communicates with those outside of Afghanistan, but his calls for help have been met with inaction.

“Despite being in active communication and numerous calls for urgent assistance to different UK authorities since 15 August we have yet to receive any help,” he said.   

“I am feeling very scared, imprisoned and worthless because everything I know and planned for evaporated in a split second. All my dreams, ambitions, education, skills, and entire future have not only become pointless but a threat to my life in Taliban controlled Afghanistan.”

He worries for the mental health of his children. “We are all nearing the breaking point, especially the children who do not understand and grasp any of the current circumstances.”

Without valid travel documents for his entire family, Azfaar admitted the impossibility of escape.

“I am hoping the British government will take note of our vulnerable and desperate flight and offer travel permits, clearances, immediate relief and refuge,” he said. “Every passing second, minute, and hour we are risking our safety.”

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