Young children in an Afghan family given sanctuary in the UK danced with excitement as they played in the sea for the first time.
The family had been living under the threat of death in their landlocked homeland before being evacuated to the UK as the Taliban seized power.
After three months in ‘bridging’ hotels, former interpreter Ziaullah Omer, his wife and five children have moved into a house on the Isle of Wight.
Their journey’s end has included seeing the sea up close for the first time before the siblings splashed about at the water’s edge.
Ziaullah, 37, who risked his life interpreting for British and other Western forces, told Metro.co.uk today that his family has been welcomed with open arms by their new community.
Together with his wife, who does not want to be named to protect her relatives still in Afghanistan, they are settling in with their sons Modaser 6, Lotfullah, 8, Ahmad, 9, Edriss, 10, and three-year-old daughter Haya.
‘We’d never seen the sea before,’ Ziaullah said.
‘You can get to it from Afghanistan but it was very far from us and we never went there. We’d only see it in movies and now we can see the real thing.
‘We are enjoying it a lot, every evening we visit the sea. It’s brilliant, it’s only five minutes away from us.’
The move in October this year capped a fraught journey to safety from Afghanistan, where Ziaullah’s father and one-year-old son were murdered by the Taliban as he was hunted down over his work for Western forces.
He had earned high commendations during his service as an interpreter for British troops in Sangin, Helmand Province, between 2009 and 2010.
Ziaullah then returned to Kabul, his home city, where he became a firefighter for the International Security Assistance Force at the former Hamid Karzai International Airport. Spending six years in the role, he again earned glowing praise for his work.
Ziaullah then became a firefighter team leader and instructor for the Alokozay Group of Companies.
As the Western coalition withdrew and the Taliban made rapid advances, the family went into hiding, moving between addresses to avoid the militants.
The former translator has previously told how Taliban fighters killed his son and 68-year-old dad at his home while he was out, shooting the toddler in the forehead as he crawled by the gate.
The family was evacuated from Kabul during the mass airlift in August and cried with relief and happiness onboard the ‘freedom flight’.
They paid heartfelt thanks to the British government after touching down five days before the Taliban seized Kabul.
They were placed in hotels in Manchester and then Derby before being moved to the Isle of Wight by the Home Office.
Ziaullah’s wife, 30, cried tears of joy when they stepped inside their house for the first time after the paperwork was completed.
‘We are enjoying life here,’ he said. ‘It’s quite a good place, it’s a quiet place.
‘It’s very, very different from Afghanistan, we have security and we are enjoying everything about it.
‘We are close to the beach and the schools are taking care of the kids very well. My wife has made many friends at the nursery and she is very happy.’
Ziaullah may serve the UK in an essential role once again.
The local fire and rescue service has reached out to the newcomer and he hopes to undergo training and join its ranks in the new year.
After he visited the station, his new friends brought a fire engine and a fancy dress Father Christmas to his home with gifts for the children.
The move to a place of sanctuary comes as Afghanistan faces humanitarian catastrophe, with a crisis appeal accompanied by a warning that eight million children are on the brink of famine.
‘My family who are still stuck there are struggling a lot,’ Ziaullah said. ‘I am worried about them.’
Thousands of Afghan families are said to be waiting in hotel accommodation after arriving in the UK through Operation Pitting, the evacuation from Kabul Airport which ended on August 28.
However, those that have been resettled have reported a positive response from local communities.
On Sunday, Naimat Zafary told how he was settling into life in Brighton with his wife and four children and wants to help alleviate the suffering in his homeland after completing his studies at the University of Sussex.
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