An Afghan scholar airlifted out of Kabul is determined to help alleviate the suffering in his homeland as he begins a new life in Brighton.
Naimat Zafary, 36, who feared for his life after the Taliban seized power, moved into his house on Friday with his wife Saima and their four children.
The family was evacuated by British troops amid fraught and desperate scenes during the final days of the airlift at Kabul Airport on August 23 and he is now studying at the University of Sussex.
Along with thousands of other Afghans in ‘bridging’ hotels across the country, they spent months in temporary accommodation before the Home Office arranged the permanent move to Hove.
The fresh start in the UK will include the couple’s children, daughters Hina, 9, Hurmat, 7, Mahnoor, 3, and son Ahmad Taimur, 2, beginning at primary schools and nurseries in their new neighbourhood.
‘It is quite exciting to get out of the hotel and into our very first house in the UK in a society and a community that has warmly welcomed us,’ Naimat said. ‘Simple things like going into the kitchen and cooking our own food feels so great. Now we can think about a new life that has schooling, education and freedom of movement.
‘We are also looking forward to getting to know our neighbours.
‘The custom in Afghanistan is to get to know your new neighbours, which is really enjoyable. We really feel at home.’
Saima, 28, plans to learn English but also has Afghanistan in her thoughts, with her cousins in the country telling her about poverty and famine.
‘Now I feel I am at home, a relaxed home,’ she said. ‘I am so thankful to be in the UK but I do think of Afghanistan.’
The university graduate had previously been working as a United Nations project coordinator and had high-profile links with the Chevening Scholarship, which enables emerging leaders from all over the world to pursue a master’s degree in the UK.
As the coalition forces withdrew and the Taliban seized power, he feared being a target for the country’s new rulers due to his Western links.
The fluent English speaker spent 10 days in hiding in Kabul, the family’s home city, before his group was evacuated as crowds of around 15,000 people built up in the final days of the exodus.
The family has found a place of sanctuary as an appeal begins in response to an unfolding humanitarian crisis in their homeland.
The Disasters Emergency Committee said that ‘fast’ action is needed to help eight million children on the brink of famine over Christmas.
‘This week the first snow of the year fell in Kabul,’ Naimat said. ‘In the matter of a few months, 23 million people have fallen into severe hunger and poverty. The other side is unemployment.
‘A huge number of bureaucrats no longer have jobs. Or if they are working they are no longer getting their salaries. It’s a shocking situation affecting a huge number of my friends and family.
‘Even for those who are being paid there is inflation. While I was living in the country in August it was one dollar equal to 77 or 78 Afghanis. But now it’s more than 100. It’s difficult to live.
‘The people of Afghanistan are suffering the most right now, and there is a harsh winter ahead. I would like to thank the UK for its support and ask people to help the appeal.’
Despite spending five months in a hotel in London, Naimat has already completed a term of his one-year postgraduate course in Governance, Development and Public Policy through the government scholarship.
He remains focused on his homeland, where the Taliban’s edicts have drastically reduced women and girls’ rights to work and study.
Naimat told Metro.co.uk he was particularly moved by the plight of a fellow Afghan educator reduced to cleaning shoes in the street.
‘I saw a video of a top teacher at one of the schools in Afghanistan, and she was doing shoe polishing on the street,’ he said.
‘What if she is the money earner? What if a family only has girls? How can you ask them not to work or study?’
The future leader, who is based at the university’s affiliated Institute of Development Studies, plans to stay in the UK after his course and to support his homeland through writing and research.
‘It has always been my desire to graduate and help Afghanistan,’ he said. ‘My connection is with my people. I want to support them in any way I can.’
Naimat is among a dozen students from Afghanistan at the university, with nine being on the Chevening programme.
Sussex is running an appeal to support the students as they rebuild their lives in the UK. For more about the Sussex Fund Afghan Appeal, click
To donate to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Afghanistan Crisis Appeal click here.
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