Hamza's Story: From Afghanistan to England

Hamza (name changed) worked for the British Army in Afghanistan. He fled the Taliban in August 2021, and is currently staying in a hotel with his wife and three boys while they wait to move into a house. Here’s what he had to say about why he fled, how his children are doing, and what his hopes are for the future of his family.

We had a bad situation in Afghanistan. Terrorist groups, they don’t respect women, or the intelligence or education of people. I am not comfortable with those people because they don’t like me. They don’t respect me and they don’t want to give jobs to me. Maybe they will kill me and injure me and put me in jail. It’s a very difficult life when we think about that.

My wife [was] also working, so she left her job one week before we came to the UK. Now, we have a normal life and our children are very happy. They can continue education, go sight-seeing. Your charity and many other charities – they call us and if you need anything [they] are ready to help us. We have NHS numbers now; the doctor came and asked about our health and our children. We are happy and we don’t have any problems. We appreciate you again — you help us so much.

Do you feel a sense of relief?

Yes, I feel relief. I wish to work and start a new job and I will be settled in [our new home]. There aren’t many Afghan people here, it’s a small town. I wish to find a job for me and my wife – she is also Pashtun. I want to start very fast, but I wish for someone to help me, to tell me about the jobs and the people. I wish to find more friends here [so we can] learn from each other.

Do you have friends and family still in Afghanistan?

Yes, I have many friends and family still in Afghanistan. The Taliban sometimes ask them about me because they have information about us. The only problem now is that we think sometimes about our family that are in Afghanistan. [The Taliban] are a terrorist group and they don’t understand about [fair] policy. We wish for more powerful countries to control the Taliban and do not force them on the people or on our family. Stop killing the women – let the women go to schools and continue their work.

We are human! We are not different from other people. We wish to continue our jobs and for the women in our family to continue their jobs. It’s a very bad situation for all in Afghanistan.

In some families, the father has been killed and the women and children need to get education. But the Taliban is very bad. We are Muslims, but they are Muslims that don’t understand about the real Islam. They use the name of Islam for the bad things, but Islam is not that.

We still don’t understand why it’s happened. It’s very difficult to believe the day that the Taliban came in and took over. We like our flag, we like our country, but the Taliban came in and took our country and changed our flag, they changed everything. They cut the Ministry of Women’s Affairs as they don’t think they need that. They think the woman should stay in the home and cook and clean and do things in the house.

What was it like when you made the decision to leave Afghanistan?

It was difficult for me to make the decision [to leave] because I worked 10 years in my country. I had a very hard job and we have bad situations but we were happy to serve our country and fight against terrorist groups, against those people that don’t want the women to continue their education. But we accept hard times to make decisions.

But whenever I talk about my children, about their future, why should I make problems for them in the future? Because of my children, I made the decision to leave [Afghanistan] because these people [the Taliban] did not let my wife [work], they don’t [pay] attention to my children, to education, and they don’t let me [live] normal and comfortable in this country [Afghanistan]. Because of that, I decide to leave. This country is not for me, for my family. [The Taliban] are bad people and they will kill us.

Now I am happy, I appreciate that [the UK government] solve my problems, took me out of that country and into the UK.

What do you hope for the future for your children?

I think I am very happy. Sometimes I ask my children, what do you want to be, in the future? They want to be a doctor, be an engineer, especially the oldest son. One day I went to [the park] and whenever I saw the footballs, he leave very fast! He likes it, it’s a hope for him. When I settle in my new house, I will find a club, a football place, to join him to, and start and train in football. He really would like to be a footballer in the future. I wish for him to play football for this country!

I like to play football … but my son is better than me! He goes very well. Someone brought him a ball and every day when we go to the park we go and play together.

All three of [my boys] like Spiderman. They really want to have Spiderman clothes, a Spiderman watch, and everything that belongs to Spiderman, he wants to have! I promised to them that I will buy it for them whenever we go to our new house.

Sometimes they behave like Spiderman, like climbing on the walls, making the noises like Spiderman!

How have they found adjusting to life in the hotel?

They are not used to the hotel food. My wife is a good cook, like a chef, and she would like to cook for them, the food they know, but she cannot as we have no kitchen. But, they do like pizza!

What does your wife hope for?

My wife, she wants to help people. For example, some charity brought so many clothes. We have some people that these clothes are very important for them. We want someone to prepare [them]. She says she is ready to do this work and continue her education and help the people that need these things.

Hamza and his family’s story is, sadly, not unique. Thousands of families and individuals are forced to flee their homes every year in search of safety. Upbeat Communities is proud to welcome and support people from all over the world as they rebuild their lives in the UK. If you’d like to set up a monthly gift to enable us to keep up this vital work, head to upbeatcommunities.org/donate today. Thank you.

Hamza’s name and photograph have been changed to protect his identity.