Afghan national who saved British Army from terror: ‘We love the freedoms of the UK’
FROM dodging sniper attacks and suicide bombings in Helmand province to making doors in a British seaside town, life has changed a lot for Afghan interpreter Rahmatullah Mohammad Juma.
JAMIE WILLIAMSON
With his four-year-old daughter already speaking in a broad Scots accent, his wife hoping to become a hairdresser and a baby son born just this year, he says he could not feel more welcome in the UK.
Rahmatullah, 32, was one of 3,000 Afghans who worked as interpreters for the British Army, providing vital support in the war against the Taliban.
Steps were taken to allow staff and their families to relocate to the UK. So far nearly 400 have done so. However, the move has caused controversy, because current rules state Afghan interpreters can only come to Britain if they were employed on an arbitrary date of December 19, 2012.
The several hundred who were not serving on that date can apply to the UK under a second so-called "intimidation scheme" where they have to prove they are at risk. Lord Stirrup, chief of the defence staff during the Afghan campaign, has said the UK had a "moral obligation" to all the locals it had employed.
Thankfully, Rahmatullah fell into the first category and was offered the chance of staying in Afghanistan with funding for university training or a new life in the UK.
JAMIE WILLIAMSON
I am happier in the UK because me and my immediate family members are safe
He opted for the latter and found himself relocated to Troon in Scotland's South Ayrshire in 2014.
He said: "I was a translator and interpreter for the British Army. I started working in 2007 and was there until 2014. We were working in Helmand province, the most dangerous in Afghanistan. We were meeting the local community, inside the villages, on the streets. We were asking questions. Every time we went out it was different.
"Mostly we were talking about construction projects and if they were satisfactory to the area. But we were also in some of the missions and were inside battle, so we faced some danger.
"The Taliban was very active at that time in Helmand so we were at risk of explosions, mines, sniper shots. A few of my friends died in suicide bombs."
He and wife Fariba knew nothing about Scotland when they first arrived and had not researched it because of poor internet facilities in Afghanistan.
JAMIE WILLIAMSON
"We were new to the area. I had no idea about the weather or landscape. Helmand was very different," he said.
But they received a warm welcome and he soon found work. He said: "When people hear we are ex-employees of the British Army they say what a wonderful job you have done serving the Army and they are very welcoming.
"Three months after coming to the UK I looked for a job and was very lucky to get one. I started on minimum wage and I am now getting a little more.
like in the "I like my job. Since I started working in the company I felt I was living out my dreams - I could do anything my manager wanted. I've had two pay rises this year and I am now a foreman and am able to work a lot of the machines. The plan is to buy a house next year."
He went on: "I have a daughter, Zainab, who is four, and a two-montold son. Zainab is mainly Scottish. She started speaking and walking in Scotland, she is Scottish now."
"My wife is now doing an English language course - she has plans to be a hairdresser.
"In Afghanistan people are not that open-minded. There is no education in villages. People are closed-minded and we love the freedoms of the UK."
Just two months ago his son Ahmad Taha was born in Kilmarnock.
Rahmatullah said he was particularly struck by the kindness of NHS staff.
He added: "I would like to live in the UK for ever. I am happier in the UK because me and my immediate family members are safe. But I worry about my mother, sisters, brother every day - life is very difficult in Afghanistan."
