Former British Embassy Chef Asks PM Boris Johnson To Evacuate His Family From Afghanistan

The evacuation process by the British military at Kabul airport, Afghanistan. (Twitter/@DefenceHQ)

JAKARTA - A man who worked as a chef in the kitchen of the British Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan for seven years, pleaded with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to evacuate and save him and his family.

He made this plea, at a time of increasing 'search' for Afghans working for Western countries, by Taliban insurgents. However, the Taliban had previously said they would not retaliate.

"I was really scared, scared. We haven't left the house for four days. Every sound at the door scared us for our lives," said Ahmad, who lives not far from Kabul airport but is afraid to travel there with his wife and three children. , aged 22, 17, and 11, tweeted The Guardian Friday 20 August.

"I am very proud to work with foreigners, we never expected this situation to happen. We know the Taliban are very brutal. They will never forgive us for working with foreign governments. As a former British embassy employee for seven years, I want Boris Johnson to feel the pressure we feel because we work for a foreign government. We ask him to help as much as he can. Please help us out," he pleaded.

His wife said if she knew working for Britain and America would put their families at risk, she said she would never have worked with them.

"My 11-year-old daughter was crying all the time. There was gunfire all the time because we were near the airport. We were so scared and scared for our future. I haven't slept for four days," she said.

Ahmad, who requested that his real name not be published but who has shown his work contract to the Guardian, worked in a catering job at the embassy as a G4S employee and later for security for the United States.

At first, he fled to the Takhar area, where his parents live, however, he eventually moved from the place because the Taliban insurgents came to look for him.

"Everyone knows I work for foreigners. They have come looking for me at my father's house. They came to the door, but I'm gone," he said.

"I am very scared. In Kabul now the situation is very fragile and deteriorating. My son saw the Taliban shoot a young man in the chest and he died. All he did was stare at them. because they looked so different with their long hair and beard. He was 20- an," he said.

Ahmad said it didn't matter to the Taliban that he wasn't a senior or working with the army or intelligence.

"Any kind of work with Britain or America is seen as working with the enemy, the occupiers," he said, speaking through an interpreter at the Afghan Association in London.

Ahmad is one of many who, according to Defense Minister Ben Wallace, last Thursday in deep fear, did not make it to the airport.

But, Ahmad said he was full of hope. “England is a very strong country. If there is a will, we hope they will find a way." Meanwhile, the wife said, "We tried everything we could to get out but now we are locking ourselves in our house. Right now I am very scared."

Ahmad was contracted to G4S to work as a chef at the British embassy between 2007 and 2014 before he switched to a security firm working for America. He said the US company had refused his help because he was a subcontractor.

Meanwhile, he had heard via Facebook about the UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel's offer to resettle vulnerable Afghans, he said, but questioned how British officials could identify people like him.

"So many people feel threatened. How can they contact us? We are too afraid to contact anyone. Even our neighbors can report us to the Taliban. Everyone knows we work for a foreign government," he explained.

Ahmad's case raises questions about what criteria the UK Government uses to evacuate those they have worked with, and whether they will accept people who have worked for them in previous years.

It came as the Guardian revealed that more than 100 guards at the British embassy in Kabul, were fired from their jobs on Saturday night, and have been told they are not eligible for UK Government protection because they were hired through outsourcing contracts.

Separately, Karim Sharin, policy director of the London Afghan Association, who facilitated interviews with Ahmad and received round-the-clock calls from desperate Afghans said the evacuation of educated staff working for foreign governments could cause a 'second tragedy' for the country.

"Despite the Taliban's assurances, people cannot believe what they say. If they leave, you will need another 20 years to build another educated workforce. Brain draining would suit the Taliban because it will make it easier for them to govern," he said.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "We are making every effort to relocate eligible Afghan staff and their families wishing to relocate to the UK, and this commitment will endure. The team in Afghanistan, led by our ambassador and supported by personnel additional diplomatic and military personnel, are working hard to get British nationals and former British staff out as quickly as possible," saying the offer to staff was not 'time-limited'.