September 29, 2021 3.15 pm This story is over 29 months old

Terrified Lincoln taxi driver still stuck in Afghanistan as Taliban kill his school friends

“It makes me wish I was never born in this world”

By Local Democracy Reporter

“I can’t cope with this pain anymore” is the message from a Lincoln taxi driver who is stuck in Afghanistan, over a month after attempting to save his family from the Taliban.

The 35-year-old father, who we are keeping anonymous for safety reasons, flew over to Kabul in Afghanistan to try and save his family after the Taliban seized control of the nation in August.

The British citizen has tirelessly attempted to bring his family back to the UK, visiting Kabul airport day and night for over a month, but he is still trapped.

He has sent a number of harrowing videos to The Lincolnite in an attempt to alert authorities to the severity of the situation, as he fights for survival on the floor of a small shelter.

In one of the videos, he shows a bullet that had been shot through his window while his family were sleeping, and the family clean their clothes in a bucket of water.

His most recent footage shows a burning building from a village that he was residing in, as the Taliban forced people to leave the area or risk being killed.

The Lincoln taxi driver told The Lincolnite: “It’s so very scary here. All my family are having a nightmare, we are all on anti-depressant medication.

“When I look at how scared my family are, it makes me wish I was never born in this world, that’s how much pain we are going through and it breaks my heart because it feels like I don’t have anybody to go to for help.

“Sometimes I just pray and wish that God can come and take me away because I can’t cope with this pain anymore.”

A building was badly damaged as the Taliban rampaged through a Kabul village.

In a truly shocking recall of events, the man told us that the Taliban have killed four of his school friends due to them being Hazara minority.

“There are children begging for food on the streets, there are no jobs for women under Taliban law, everyone is terrified. They are not just doing this to my village, but every village that has Hazara minority living within it.”

After raising awareness of this particular case, The Lincolnite contacted Lincoln MP Karl McCartney to see if he could help, and he has promised to be “actively involved” in the case to bring him home.

The damage came as Taliban troops set fire to buildings and demanded people leave the village.

Details have been passed onto the Home Office and the government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, who are said to be continuing their support.

A UK government spokesperson said: “We are aware of this individual, and have provided them with important updates. We will continue to do this and do all we can to support them.

“We have evacuated over 15,000 people, including over 8,300 British nationals, Afghan nationals and their families since mid-August. The UK and international partners are committed to ensuring that our citizens and Afghans who have worked with us can continue to travel freely to destinations outside Afghanistan.”

Despite the Home Office pledge, the Lincoln man says that he has had next to no guidance or help in his attempts to escape Afghanistan, and is instead consistently told to “look out for an update”.

“When we try calling the number provided by the Home Office we are just told to wait for updates. Every other country seems to be taking their citizens home while we are being told to stay where we are. For how long? I have no idea…”