Her family managed to flee Afghanistan the next day, with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing.
“I want to study here too, but I can’t,” she said. “They say I need my documents, but I couldn’t take them with me. We came suddenly. I thought I would become a good doctor, I only had a few years [of training] left.”
Instead of higher education, Najiba looked for work, but she was told to improve her English when she visited the job center. She now attends classes with the Red Cross.
“The fact that Afghans are faced with hurdles and barriers is a reflection that the government believes that you should make it as difficult as possible for refugees, rather than reaching out compassionately and welcoming refugees who are clearly on the run for persecution, death threats, potential torture, oppression,” Soloman said.
“Many of the adults are still unable to fully participate. Many are still in temporary housing and have not yet received their biometric permanent residency permits, posing a barrier to them accepting job offers,” added Genevieve Caston, the head of the UK NGO Rescue programme. “They are very motivated to work but when they get an offer the employer cannot verify their right to work in the UK.”
A spokesman for the Home Office said: “It is completely ludicrous to suggest that we are creating ‘barriers to normal life’ for Afghans in the UK when we have a comprehensive package to welcome up to 20,000 people in need through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.”
A life in limbo
Mr Soloman said those living in “small hotels” are in uncertainty and experience “huge problems around depression, anxiety and high levels of stress”.
Raakin said that while he is grateful to have his room, there are “many things” that the refugees cannot do at the hotel. “If you have someone who wants to meet you, you should give their information to the hotel staff [to approve]. You can’t cook. You can’t apply for a driver’s license because you don’t have a permanent residence,” he said.
Meanwhile, Najiba, who has also lived in budget hotels for a year, said that life’s uncertainty is having a major impact on the health of her parents, who suffer from depression and poor memory. They are so unwell they don’t leave the inside of their room, she said.
“In Afghanistan we had a happy life, we had everything. We cooked different Afghan dishes, every day we had guests, we cooked for them,” she said.
Khan, who also worked as a British interpreter, is grateful to the British Army for evacuating him, but said:[The future] is really hard to think about. We still live like a guest in a hotel.”