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LONDON — Afghan families “have been let down” by shortcomings in the British government’s plan to offer refuge to people fleeing the Taliban, according to a new study released to mark two years since the fall of Kabul.
The U.K. launched two programs — “Operation Warm Welcome” and the “Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy” in 2021 — in a bid to house Afghans who had worked closely with the British government, as well as those deemed particularly vulnerable once the Taliban regained control of the country.
But, two years on, think tank More in Common found Britain’s offer of help had not “lived up to its potential.”
“The British public’s generosity of spirit towards Afghan refugees has not been met by what has so far been delivered by local and national government,” it warned.
The report is particularly critical of housing provision offered to Afghan refugees. It finds that roughly 9,000 people, half of whom are children, were still stuck in “clearly unsuitable” temporary hotel accommodation as of March 2023.
“That families were stuck in cramped accommodation without their own front door or a route to independence, a year and a half after the initial evacuation from Kabul, is the central failing of this welcoming program,” the report adds.
The think tank argues that it is still “possible to get Operation Warm Welcome back on track” and urges the British government to “to learn from our failures and successes so we can better support and welcome those next cohort of Afghans to arrive and future groups who need our help.”
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer — who served in the British military in Afghanistan — told the Press Association news agency that hotels were “not long-term accommodation options for Afghans and their families.”
He said he was “very clear, from a personal perspective, as to what we owe these people” and vowed that the government “will get it right when it comes to what we owe these people.”
