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During the official UK Refugee Week, an Afghan freedom fighter tells his "untold true story of an asylum seeker" to Michael Taylor from the Bristol Defend Asylum Seekers Campaign. Zia (not his real name) is an asylum-seeker from Afghanistan who was arrested exactly one year ago by the Taliban but who managed to escape. The UK Home Office recently turned down his application for asylum saying he missed the 2 week deadline between arrival and registering his claim despite his solicitor sending it by recorded delivery. Only a concerted fight has won him this basic right. His claim is now being considered. He was a student activist in Jalalabad. On his new year"s day he recounts the events of the past year of his life:
MT: We see images of rugged landscapes in Afghanistan, of harsh dry, stony roads. Can you describe your home for me?
Zia: Afghanistan in the past was different totally from now. In the past there was normal life. People were feeling confident. Everybody had his work or job or enjoyment. Now, after fighting, the windows of houses are broken, homes are burnt. Now, we spend all our money repairing them. Our neighbourhood is not like before. Strangers, new people are coming to our area - people we do not like, from Taliban, from the secret services. My house is near the highway from Kabul to Jalal"abad. It is a green area with big trees. In our home, most of the trees were oranges, lemon and a few different trees of apple. Some were dried because of drought. Our family house was made of concrete, big stones. Our homes are much much different to here, made from ancient stones dark grey in colour.
MT: Can you describe the life that you were forced to flee - the little world you had around you, your daily life?
Zia: I used to go in the morning to college. In the afternoon, because of the dangerous situation, for the Taliban not to arrest us, secretly we did our political activities. We met in some secret places to meet people of similar opinion - other student activists. Because of the political changes brought by Taliban, life has changed. According to the Taliban"s strict Islamic laws even sports were not allowed. I used to play martial arts and football in the past. But now there are no playgrounds. If Taliban see young people playing they arrest them and force them to fight at the front. They say "Use your strength for fighting". I was in the first year of college in the Department of Social Studies. I dreamed of becoming a lecturer. I wanted to be more in touch with people, to convince them. I would have more opportunity to have contact with the younger generation, to discuss a better future. As I belonged to one of the opposition political parties, on the 23rd March 2000 in the afternoon, in the college yard, about 100 students of our same opinion arranged a meeting to make arrangements for a protest the next day against Taliban in the town centre of Jalalibad city. While I was addressing the crowd, after 20 minutes, the Taliban entered the college by force and arrested me and four other of my colleagues working in the same political cell.
MT: What did Taliban do with you?
Zia: They tied our eyes and put us in a pickup. They took us to a secret place where only Taliban knows - an underground building for interrogation like the Ministry for Vice and Virtue in Kandahar. They asked us many, many questions. They punished us in different ways. They whipped us with leather sticks. They hit us with the butts of guns in our necks and on our backs. Then they took us to the front line to try to force us to fight against our own opposition party using us.
We refused strongly. We said we don"t know how to use the weapons. We said we only know how to use pen and the paper. We said we don"t know how to kill innocent people. On the second day they said we will give you special training to use Kalashnikovs. So we continued to refuse. On the third day they changed commander. Taliban said he is a kind person and he will look after you. He wont harm you. They took us back to the interrogation centre and increased the punishment and cruelty. They brought out electrical equipment which they tied to arms, ankles and toes. They continued to whip us. I still have scars on my back. They were asking who our supporters were? Who manages us? They reminded us that for opposing the holy Islamic law we should be killed. They torture me in jail for six months as my father is commander in chief of the opposition. They kept asking about him and his location. I was in a bad situation. I couldn"t control myself. I was crying twenty-four hours day and night.
MT: How did you manage to escape this hell?
Zia: One night, a sweeper came into my area of the prison. He was a very old person. As a punishment they had sent him to clean the cages of the political prisoners. He was very kind. He asked why I was crying. I was afraid. I feared that he was sent by Taliban to exploit my hour of need. He seemed kind. I told him my story. He cried as well. He said the Taliban had killed his son who was also opposing their fundamental rules. He said I am being hurt by Taliban too. He said how can I help you? I felt I shouldn"t trust him because I hadn"t seen anyone since my imprisonment. But I took a chance and gave him my home address to contact my family to let them know I was alive. I thought I was dead. Nobody can get a chance to get rid of Taliban. After a few days he came to me and said "I am sorry". My house had been burnt and destroyed, "There were no human beings there". The Taliban"s policy is to burn the houses of their opponents. They seize all possessions for what they call "Bay tol mal" ? the Common Islamic Fund. I gave the old man my uncle"s address, who works as a businessman. My uncle sent me a message not to worry - that as soon as possible he"d try to bribe the Taliban chief. On midnight on the 14th of August 2000, someone came to my cell. Because of lack of food and water I had lost my consciousness. Freezing cold water was poured on me. I woke up and saw a man with a big turban and a huge beard standing over me. I thought this is the tine they are going to kill me. He said "wake up" in a loud and frightening voice. He said "you are free and released. You had better leave as soon as possible". Being in jail for such a long time, tired in my legs and arms I was unable to walk. I had lost my weight and strength. I told him "Please, if you want to shoot me just shoot me here. I am unable to walk even one step". He slapped my face. "If you don"t go, we will be arrested for taking money from you uncle". At last I felt confident that it was true. I felt I came back to life. He pulled me by his arm and took me with his other bodyguards in the dark night time. From there he left me. He pointed at a lightning in the distance. Go there and you will find your party waiting for you to receive you. I tried to reach there. They had arranged every thing for me. My uncle brought me a turban and tied it on my head. He made me look like a bus conductor to avoid being rearrested by the Taliban. The bus driver took me to the boundary at Tourkhum on the Pakistan border. When I entered Pakistan, my uncle had written me an address on a scrap of paper in my pocket. I reached Peshawa, the first city after the border and contacted my uncle"s friend who took me to his house. I asked him for shelter and told him my story. He said my life was still in danger because the main source of the Taliban in Pakistan was very close nearby. Again I had to flee. He decided to send me to a western country. He talked to one of the agents. On 16th August 2000 he left me with the agent who kept me underground until the 25th August when I left for Karachi the first industrial city of Pakistan. I was there for a few hours then I left by Syrian Airlines to Damascus on the 26th. The same day I flew from Damascus to Heathrow where I immediately applied for asylum.
MT: How did the Taliban Regime come to power?
Zia: The Taliban are the Islamic fundamentalist movement trained in Pakistani schools called the "Madrasa". Taliban means "Islamic students". Most of the other political parties are also Islamic. Most of them did not oppose Taliban and left most of the areas to them. They started from Quetta a city of Pakistan. Most of the Taliban are from the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan. They are Sunni. They were supported by other countries who have been interrupting the interior affairs of Afghanistan ? Saudi Arabia, the UAE. In the beginning they were also supported by the United States as well. They appeared in 1994 officially announcing their movement publicly. With the armed support of outside agencies they have gradually seized power of many areas.
MT: We have heard limited news of the situation in Afghanistan ? of the shut down of women, summary executions of opponents of the regime, of the totalitarian control of the media and the recent destruction of all icons including the world"s largest statues ? the great Buddhas ? "Buth". Saira Shah"s recent Dispatches documentary "Beneath the Veil" evidenced many cases. Can you describe for me those things you have witnessed of the regimes repression of human rights for which you would like it to be held accountable?
Zia: As soon as they captured Ingarhar Province, they announced that all the schools, colleges, universities should be closed. They wanted to make people afraid. They wanted to disconnect their ties with other parties. They knew that especially the students opposed them. They come in jeeps and pickups with loudspeakers in their hands announcing their Islamic strict rules in the streets of the city. They wave their Taliban white flag on their cars. They tell the people "Now you are in safe hands" - that Taliban have come with good judgement and justice and that we have to obey the Islamic law. They captured one commander Haserat Ali and his militia. They collected their dead bodies and put them on the streets to give a lesson to the innocent people of Jalalibad. They said if anybody didn"t obey their laws they will face the same punishment. They announced that no woman is allowed to come out of the house without Hejab. They must have everything covered ? even their feet and hands. They said no woman is allowed to work in an office or to move outside the home without her husband, brother or father. They said no girls are allowed to go to school for education, no lady doctors were allowed to go to hospital. Even they closed the maternity hospitals and labour rooms. Most of the pregnant women were killed because of the lack of doctors that resulted. They died during the birth of their children in the houses. Both the newborn children and their mothers. Life was totally stopped. The offices closed. Administration was later resumed by the Taliban. Local people were not allowed to work there. They were treated like servants. They forced them only to fight against the opposition parties in the front lines. The only one thing they made free was hashish and cocaine. They encouraged the farmers to grow them. Taliban bought it and exported it through neighbouring countries to the west and the Gulf countries. The only economy they had was this. They spent millions of dollars on fighting and war and oppression. It cost them a lot and the only source they had was to smuggle these drugs. Today we suffer drought after years of this. Every farmer gave up wheat and grain. Before we had industry. But Tsliban burnt most of the factories that made our shoes, textiles, detergents, olive oils. All we have left is drugs. When they came to power, they captured the TV stations, the radio stations. The programmes totally changed. They changed the whole staff. Most were arrested and killed. Again they put Kandahari Talibans in their places. We have a national newspaper called Shariagh Daily. It always has speeches by the Taliban leaders Mullah Rabani and Mullah Omar and their famous commanders. The articles are limited to their Islamic strict ideologies. They tell about their success in capturing the different parts of Afghanistan and the propaganda against the opposition to make their morale weaker and weaker. They destroyed people"s TVs, radios, computers on the streets outside houses, even cassettes. The streets were littered with plastic debris. They checked each car, each bus. They rolled people"s music tapes rolled between wooden sticks to destroy them. They can listen to Islamic poems. The TV station is redundant. Their radio station is Shariad Ghag ? meaning Islamic Voice ? an extension of their mosques.
MT: We have heard of the control by opposition forces of Baghlan Province north of Kabul. Why is this region controlling access to the Panshir Valley so important?
Zia: This is the only strategic point left. The Panshir Valley is the front line for the opposition party called Ittehad Islami Afghanistan ? meaning United Islamic Afghanistan. Baghlan is a high mountainous point that allows control of the Panshir Valley. Panshir is the basic headquarters of the opposition party. The opposition still controls most of north Afghanistan, the 5 provinces. There is still hope that they can defeat the Taliban.
MT: How would you describe the ideology of the opposition to Taliban in Afghanistan today?
Zia: They are totally opposing the Taliban ideologies and opinions from A to Z. The opposition parties allow human rights and rights for women. If they defeat Tasliban they will establish a liberal and republican system where everybody is free to ask for their rights and to say their opinions the way they want.
MT: Who are the regimes strongest critics?
Zia: The ex-president of course Burhanuddin Rabani and also Adburab Rasoul Saiaf. The main elements of the former open democracy.
MT: Do you feel that the UN should intervene in Afghanistan?
Zia: Yes. The only hope. If they want to solve the Afghani problem they should enter straight away. They can help make the way for elections. We are tired of civil wars that have raged for the past 20 or 30 years. We have experienced many different formulas but none of them have suited us. They only thing left is direct action by the UN. Through their positive role we can have some future.
MT: Many people say that the UN is a puppet of America. Do you feel confident that the UN will act when the involvement and role of the USA in it is so strong?
Zia: Yes because there is not only the USA in the UN. Since 1947, Afghanistan has been a member of the UN. Every member of the UN has the right. They still give a seat to the Rabani party ? the opposing party. The UN is not only the United States it is the entire world.
MT: We hear about terrible drought affecting farming and livestock in your country, does this open the door to the possibility of western aid agencies being allowed in and a possible relaxing of the regime?
Zia: They have opened their doors but only one way. Last month they sent one delegation from the Taliban Afghan Red Cross (Afghan Sra Miashth) to collect donations. They visited different cities of the UK and collected donations. But, they used the Red Cross and these donations for war and killing innocent people. They used the ambulances and doctors and facilities of the Red Cross mobile clinics for the Taliban militia, not for our helpless people of Afghanistan. I blame the Red Cross. Unfortunately the doors are shut the other way. No one is allowed to see what is going on inside. Now, as a result of the drought caused by ending agriculture and starting drug harvesting, even the Hashish which is a delicate plant is dying.
MT: So where will the Taliban turn next for their economy?
Zia: They get support from the manipulating outside sources. Arab Usama Bin-Laden for example.
MT: What measures are there currently in place to protest civilians caught up in the violence? Does Amnesty International have an effect for example?
Zia: Yes, Amnesty has some information about the prisoners through dissidents and refugee stories but there is no way news can get out.
MT: Afghanistan has a turbulent history. In 1979 the Soviet Union forces invaded the place you were living advancing under the banner of communism. They claimed it was a humanitarian intervention to help the Afghan people. On another hand the subsequent manipulation of Afghanistan by America must have soured Afghani support for neoliberalism. Do people have mixed feelings about these two ideologies? Can you say a few words about those days? How did you feel? How did you analyse the unfolding situation?
Zia: In general the people felt that they were hopeful that we would become a better developed agricultural and industrial country after the Russian invasion. From then until 1990, this was true. Some of the Islamic parties opposed the Russian forces they were the only ones that fought. At that time under the Russian occupation, Afghanistan become the battleground of the 2 superpowers - Russia and the United States. In fact they were fighting with each other but only Afghani people were killed and used as robot machines. Afghanis opposing Russians were supported by the US. Afghanis opposing US were supported by Russians. My people died on both sides as the powers fought for total control of Afghanistan. Both sides had the plan to reach the Persian Gulf because they wanted to reach the sea. They knew that the Gulf would then be easy to capture.
MT: What are the most difficult challenges facing Afghanistan today?
Zia: The most difficult challenge is the lack of any political and diplomatic ties with any other countries of the world. Before, we had embassies and diplomatic missions in most of the countries. Now we are completed isolated globally.
MT: How do you see the future for Afghanistan?
Zia: The future after this instability, this destruction of Afghanistan that has leveled my country to the surface of the earth, this lack of reconstruction for the last 20 years ? this future is very dark.
MT: With the new wave of anticapitalist protests around the world, what is the reaction of young people? Do you believe there is hope in them?
Zia: The only hope, the last hope is the young generation. But Taliban is using them in war. As one member of this generation I totally oppose Taliban. I am still not feeling normal as a result of my experience. Most of the youth of my generation want democracy and freedom. I was fighting for freedom and democracy. This is why Taliban arrested me and put me in jail. There is no administration or education left to guide the young generation.
MT: With the expulsion of foreign journalists it must be extremely difficult to receive information from home. When did you last have contact with your friends and family in Afghanistan?
Zia: The day I left for college on the 23rd of March 2000, that was the last day I met my mother, my innocent sister and small brothers. Since then I haven"t seen or heard about them. Since 1995 I haven"t met my father as he was in hiding as commander of the opposition. I miss my family. I miss my wife and children. It is the most difficult time in my life. Sometimes I feel guilty that I left my mother and my family. They may think I just escaped by Talbiban and left them behind. Taliban are very active in our province. I fear for them.
MT: Is there an exile community of Afghanis is the UK for example from whom you can share news?
Zia: I am very new here. Because of the economical problems of being an asylum seeker especially the new Sodexho Pass Voucher System, we can"t afford even a simple phone call. It is difficult to have contact with similar people here. There must be many but I can"t afford to contact or visit them in London or other cities of the UK.
MT: How can we, as workers in the west in solidarity with you, help?
Zia: The last hope that I am confident in are the kind people here who can interpret our opinions and transfer them to the Home Office and other concerned authorities not to prejudge us. We haven"t fled our countries because of economic problems just political ones. Some authorities call us bogus refugees. It is very sad because they prejudge us and do not know. We request them to help us and be fair with us and make decisions the proper way. We think the only hope is for the people with liberal opinion and ideologies to have shelter in the West. We are not safe even in the neighbouring countries as the Taliban can reach them easily. Even if my case is refused, I still feel satisfied that I have proof, documents of the membership of my party, I have the signs and marks on my body. Every week I visit my GP for intensive treatment because of depression and sleepless nights. Behind me I will be able to leave some record of what has happened. Please remind the west that Afghans are still facing political problems. But even more difficult than the past. Some of the western countries have forgotten Afghanistan as an old issue. But we have been suffering the same difficulties for long, for the past twenty five years.
MT: What difficulties did you experience when you arrived?
Zia: When I arrived in UK airport at Heathrow at 3pm on the 26th August 2000, I had been traveling for days. I had a cold a fever, I was just released from jail. When they were issuing the immigration authorities one document IS96, they made me wait until 1am midnight with a headache. It was hard.
MT: After such a harsh road from home, how do you describe those first moments on safe soil, the moment you reached asylum?
Zia: Even when I reached Heathrow I didn"t know if I was safe or if I would be deported back. Even now I don"t feel safe because my case is being refused by the Home Office. I am still worried about my future and how the Home Office will treat me. I have no family members and no support. I think that without them I wont be confident for all my life. This refusal, this rejection keeps rotating in my mind like the solar system.
MT: If you could write home, how would you describe the way you live here? How would you describe your environment that has become your home away from home?
Zia: To be honest I should say that before the Taliban captured Jalal"abad we had a good and normal life. We had a house. We felt rich. We didn"t feel any economic difficulties. My father had good earnings. Life here I only get £28 in vouchers. This is the life I couldn"t be able to explain to my family. How can I explain that I escaped from one jail with Taliban to another jail here.
MT: Do you feel welcomed by Britain and British people?
Zia: Yes on the whole. I would like to settle here and live my normal life as long as possible.
MT: Every day, we hear media stories critical of migrants and people like yourself seeking asylum. How does this make you feel?
Zia: It reminds me of my past and the events I gave been facing. It makes me more and more sad. I know the problems around the world. It is not easy to live in many countries now.
MT: Many people have the misconception that asylum arrive in their host country unskilled and in need of massive investment, and become an economic drain on the host society. How do you respond to these arguments?
Zia: I really request the people to not prejudge us until to you know well about us the asylum seekers. Most of the asylum seekers are from political parties. It is very big sadness and sorrow for us this feeling.
MT: How do you feel about the government"s treatment of asylum seekers?
Zia: I have sent many documents by recorded delivery. Still they refuse my case saying they haven"t received any reply from me. If they feel responsible to the way asylum seekers should be treated they should think about the way accommodation is provided and these Sodexho Pass Vouchers. In my opinion they make us stand out. In some departmental stores they treat us very cheap. They make fun of us. This is something the asylum seekers feel very shy about.
MT: In addition to having to cope with racism, refugees I have spoken to often describe a feeling of wandering. One the one hand, days become months and years and they feel that a new life should be built in their host country, but on the other hand they wait for the day they can return home. The result for many is hesitation, uncertainty, waiting. Do you share these feelings?
Zia: No. The future of Afghanistan is very dark. In the present I don"t see any solution for Afghanistan. I am clear. I have no hesitation. I am 100% sure that if any immigration status is given by the Home Office I will plan my future here in the UK.
MT: It must have been a desperate situation that caused you to leave your loved ones behind. You mentioned a feeling of guilt. How do you cope with this?
Zia: How can I sleep when all I do is think about my wife my children, my mother are they alive. Even though I have escaped from jail - a narrow escape for me I still feel guilty. When I was arrested I thought I was dead. I agree many feel guilty. For our political ideologies it is hard. We have to flee but we know it weakens those helpless people that we left behind. We think there is nobody left to arrange the protests, the uprisings, the unions, to defend the women.
MT: Today is the start of your new year. I imagine it is at times like these that you feel your isolation and separation most. How do you describe how it feels?
Zia: We call this day "Nou Rooz" which means "New Day of the Year". So, on this special traditional day, friends and family members exchange presents top each other. Relative meet other. This is a happy celebration even though it is just one day a year. I miss all my family members. My small innocent sons will miss me and will ask for presents. It makes me cry. I feel very lonely. As I heard through the radio today, some people were celebrating Nou Rooz and Taliban arrested them telling them it is against Islamic Law. It means Taliban doesn"t want the people to feel happy even one day once a year in the entire year. This is the future of Afghanistan that I fled.