Metaglossia: The Translation World

Six UN peacekeepers and interpreter wounded in ambush in eastern DR Congo

MONUSCO peacekeepers on patrol. UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti

17 October 2012 – Six United Nations peacekeepers and a local interpreter were wounded in a “cowardly” overnight ambush in the strife-torn eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN Mission in the African nation reported today.

The six peacekeepers, part of the Indian contingent serving with the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in DRC (MONUSCO), and their interpreter were ambushed while returning from a patrol with 12 other peacekeepers near Buganza in North Kivu province after finding the bodies of four civilians, the Mission said in a news release.

“This premeditated, targeted and deliberate attack is inadmissible,” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of MONUSCO, Roger Meece. “We will work with the national authorities to identify those responsible for this ignoble deed so that they are called to justice.”

A UN Indian peacekeeper was killed in the same province in July when he was caught in a cross-fire in clashes between the DRC’s armed forces and a rebel group known as the March 23 Movement (M23).

The DRC’s eastern provinces of North and South Kivu have witnessed increased fighting between Government troops and the M23, which is composed of renegade soldiers who mutinied in April. The fighting has displaced more than 300,000 people, including many who have fled to neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda, as well as within DRC.

MONUSCO, with 19,000 uniformed personnel, is the latest iteration of UN peacekeeping missions that have helped to bring stability and civilian elections to the vast country after it was torn apart by civil wars and rebel movements. Much of the country has achieved a measure of stability but fighting with various dissident groups has continued in the east where the bulk of the peacekeepers are deployed.

2 American invaders, 1 local interpreter killed in attack on district
Zabihullah Mujahid
Monday, 29 Dzulka'edah 1433Monday, 15 October 2012 14:29
LOGAR, Oct. 15 – A report says the district of Charkh, Logar province came under attack by Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate on Monday storming several artillery rounds into the facility which left three American invaders including a local interpreter within the facility dead besides damaging the facility.

Explican la censura franquista en la traducción literaria

09.10.2012 CENTROS DOCENTES - Los días 17 y 18 de octubre, la Facultad de Traducción e Interpretación acogerá las V Jornades sobre Traducción y Literatura, que tratarán sobre los efectos de la censura durante la dictadura.
Este encuentro, que se desarrollará en el aula 2 de la facultad, está organizado conjuntamente por la Cátedra Jordi Arbonès y el Grupo de Estudio de la Traducción Catalana Contemporánea (GETCC).

A lo largo de diferentes sesiones, se hablará de temas como la traducción y les políticas editoriales de los años 60 a la actualidad, las traducciones en la postguerra inmediata, la traducción de teatro o la censura de "la amoralidad femenina". Además, habrá sendas ponencias sobre la censura en la traducción al gallego y al vasco y se tratará específicamente sobre la censura en la traducción de poesía y narrativa alemanas.

El día 17, a las 10:30 h., inaugurará las jornadas Francesc Parcerisas, profesor del Departamento de Traducción e Interpretación, y a continuación ofrecerá la primera conferencia el traductor Francec Vallverdú, que glosará su experiencia en Edicions 62. La última sesión, el día 18 a las 13:15 h., versará también sobre las traducciones de Edicions 62 e irà a cargo de la escritora Mireia Sopena.

l y a tout juste un an, Lockheed Martin et le ministère de la Défense américain, annonçaient le déploiement d’un nouveau système de traduction.

Au 21e siècle, à l’heure de l’Internet et de l’information en temps réelle, le plus grand défi reste la traduction d’une langue étrangère dans une autre. Si cela est bien utile pour un centre d’appel de services aux clients, pour des réunions d’affaires entre pays, cela l’est aussi lors d’un conflit militaire. L’intercompréhension est le nerf de la guerre.

Imaginons des soldats américains dans un village afghan. La situation est explosive et personne ne se comprend. Le meilleur moyen pour… désamorcer la situation reste donc la présence d’un traducteur pachtoun-anglais. Sauf qu’il est dangereux pour ce traducteur de se retrouver en première ligne.

Les États-Unis ont donc investi 15 millions $ dans le programme Boundless Operational Language Translation (BOLT) pour la mise au point d’un traducteur universel. Star Trek n’est donc plus tellement de la science-fiction.

Mais en attendant de pouvoir tous parler entre nous, Lockheed Martin a sorti sa propre solution au problème.

Terrified Afghan interpreters who have worked for Kiwi troops in Bamiyan province are still unsure if they will be granted asylum in New Zealand and have now been told not to talk to media, a former translator says.

Last week, the Sunday Star-Times reported 26 Afghan interpreters working with Kiwi troops were pleading with the Government not to abandon them to "certain death" when the army withdraws next year.

Interpreters told the Star-Times they and their families would be captured, tortured and killed by insurgent forces for helping the foreigners when the Kiwis leave.

Prime Minister John Key said the interpreters' concerns had been acknowledged and were being considered by the Government but on Friday he would not comment any further on the issue.

Since the story, Christchurch-based former Afghan interpreter Diamond Kazimi, 19, told the Star-Times six interpreters had been "released" from the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and feared they would be excluded from any asylum offer.

However, the Defence Force said: "There are still 26 interpreters on staff and there is no change we are aware of."

Kazimi insisted six translators had recently been released from the PRT and told not to speak to media about their plight.

Every winter the army cut the number of interpreters and re-hire in summer but this year, Kazimi said, the consequences of being "released" were more severe.

"They are all really scared and so confused," he said.

Eric Lomax, who has died aged 93, long nursed thoughts of revenge on his wartime Japanese captors then, in his dotage, finally had the chance to act when he came face to face with his principal tormentor; his choice of reconciliation over...

A fellow former-prisoner then gave him a cutting from the Japan Times about a ex-Japanese soldier who had been helping the Allies to find the graves of their dead and claimed that he had earned their forgiveness. The accompanying photograph showed Takashi Nagase, the interpreter during Lomax’s interrogation, and the man with whom he most associated his ordeal.
For two years Lomax did nothing. Then he obtained a translation of Nagase’s memoir, which explained how shame had led the interpreter to create a Buddhist shrine beside the death railway. Patti Lomax then wrote to Nagase, enclosing her husband’s photograph and suggesting that perhaps the two men could correspond. She asked: “How can you feel 'forgiven’, Mr Nagase, if this particular Far Eastern prisoner-of-war has not yet forgiven you?”
The reply she received declared: “The dagger of your letter thrusted me into my heart to the bottom.” Nagase admitted that he still had flashbacks about torturing Lomax and thanked her for looking after her husband until they could meet. When Patti Lomax wrote back she enclosed a formal letter from her husband. Eventually the two elderly enemies arranged a meeting.

Afghanistan bomber kills 14, including 3 Americans
Updated: Monday, 01 Oct 2012, 12:39 PM MDT
Published : Monday, 01 Oct 2012, 12:45 AM MDT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Taliban suicide bomber rammed a motorcycle packed with explosives into a joint U.S.-Afghan patrol on Monday, killing 14 people including three Americans in the latest attack on an increasingly fraught program to help Afghan forces take over security so foreign troops can withdraw from the country over the next two years.

The attack followed more American casualties over the weekend that pushed the U.S. military's death toll for the 11-year-war above 2,000 — a figure that has climbed steadily in recent months as attacks on the so-called "partnering" initiative have risen.

Joint patrols between NATO and Afghan forces, like the one targeted Monday, have been limited following a tide of attacks by Afghan soldiers and police on their international allies. Last month, the U.S. military issued new orders that require units to get approval from superiors before conducting operations with Afghans. Two weeks later, U.S. officials said most missions were being conducted with Afghans again, though the system of approvals remained in place.

The close contact — coalition forces working side by side with Afghan troops as advisers, mentors and trainers — is a key part of the U.S. strategy for putting the Afghans in the lead as it and other nations prepare to pull out their last combat troops by the end of 2014.

But the rising death toll for international troops has raised troubling questions about whether they will achieve their aim, boosting calls inside the alliance for a pullout as soon as possible and jeopardizing the goal of training the Afghans to fully secure their country.

In the latest attack, the bomber struck the mixed police and military patrol shortly after they got out of their vehicles to walk through a market area in the eastern city of Khost. It was a reminder that the insurgency is still fighting hard after 11 years of a U.S.-led war to defeat the militants.

The New Zealand Government is looking at whether assistance can be given to Afghan interpreters who have been working with Defence Force troops.
Radio New Zealand's correspondent in Afghanistan Jon Stephenson says about two dozen translators are worried about their safety when the New Zealand soldiers with the Provincial Reconstruction Team withdraw from Bamyan next year.
They fear they could be in danger of execution if captured by the Taliban because of their work supporting foreign troops.
Prime Minister John Key says the Government is seeking advice on what risks the translators would face if they remain in Afghanistan.
"They've worked for New Zealand with New Zealand's best interests at heart, and it's at least feasible that there is some risk to them if they remain in Afghanistan. Now we need to tease and test all of that out - I can at least understand the case they're making."
One option that has been raised is assistance with settlement in New Zealand, and Mr Key says the Government is also getting advice on that.
Labour Party leader David Shearer says New Zealand must stand by these people and either bring them to New Zealand or find positions for them in other missions in Afghanistan.
"One way or the other, we owe it to these people to make sure that they are safe. They have kept us safe; they can pick up things in the street which pre-warn our people from going into areas that could be dangerous. We owe them their lives, basically."

A former Afghan interpreter says his family and the families of other interpreters are in great danger of being tortured and slaughtered when New Zealand troops withdraw from the country.

Diamond Kazimi says they've already been threatened.

"People would just come up to you and say, why are you working for infidels? Or, why are you cooperating with them? And yeah, next time I see you I'm going to kill you."

Diamond Kazimi says the New Zealand Government should have thought about the consequences before they employed Afghan interpreters.

"To settle down in New Zealand - they know everything, most of them even know the language like Maori language because they spend so much time with 'bros' and they're just part of the family."

Diamond Kazimi estimates 100 refugees would need to come here, including interpreters and their families.

United Nations chief technical adviser Chris Carter agrees interpreters will be in danger when our soldiers leave.

"Undoubtedly people who have been assisting international forces are more at risk. Other countries have recognised this. The United States has already taken many Iraqi and Afghanistan interpreters and other people."

Chris Carter says the New Zealand Government should consider doing the same.

There are grave fears that without the help of the New Zealand Government, 26 Afghan interpreters will be brutally killed.

The interpreters may be given permission to move here, when our troops leave Bamyan Province early next year.

They've been helping our troops for the last 10 years, but once our troops leave, their lives will be in danger.

Afghan Association of New Zealand spokesman Mohammed Ghulami says if the New Zealand Government can help the interpreters, it should.

He says the Taliban will find and kill the interpreters for helping New Zealand troops.

Mohammed Ghulami says anti-western sentiment is growing on a daily basis, and the Afghan Government is very corrupt.

Photo: Getty Images

OTTAWA - A special program to offer a new life in Canada to people who acted as interpreters for Canadian soldiers and diplomats in Afghanistan — sometimes at the risk of their lives — has brought in nearly double the numbers expected.

Officials had planned for only 450 Afghans to eventually make the move when they began a special immigration program for interpreters and their families in 2009.

With Canada's combat mission ended and a year after the program stopped accepting applications, around 800 former interpreters and their families are now living across the country.

The original estimate was based on consultations with the military and Foreign Affairs Department about the number of interpreters or cultural advisers used by soldiers and diplomats in Kandahar, says Citizenship and Immigration.

It's unclear how many there actually were over the five years of fighting; the military has said it had more than 6,000 requests for their services.

'Terps, as they were known, were the eyes, ears and mouths for soldiers on the battlefield and diplomats in the meeting rooms of Afghanistan.

In addition to translating, they helped teach Canadians the culture and customs of the country and many were often called upon to help shore up the often-strained relationships between soldiers and locals.

But the work was risky. Between 2006 and 2011, at least six interpreters were killed alongside Canadian soldiers and many others wounded.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Number+Afghans+resettled+Canada+doubles+former+interpreters/7356954/story.html#ixzz29BU1IiDI

OTTAWA - A special program to offer a new life in Canada to people who acted as interpreters for Canadian soldiers and diplomats in Afghanistan — sometimes at the risk of their lives — has brought in nearly double the numbers expected.

Officials had planned for only 450 Afghans to eventually make the move when they began a special immigration program for interpreters and their families in 2009.

With Canada's combat mission ended and a year after the program stopped accepting applications, around 800 former interpreters and their families are now living across the country.

The original estimate was based on consultations with the military and Foreign Affairs Department about the number of interpreters or cultural advisers used by soldiers and diplomats in Kandahar, says Citizenship and Immigration.

It's unclear how many there actually were over the five years of fighting; the military has said it had more than 6,000 requests for their services.

'Terps, as they were known, were the eyes, ears and mouths for soldiers on the battlefield and diplomats in the meeting rooms of Afghanistan.

In addition to translating, they helped teach Canadians the culture and customs of the country and many were often called upon to help shore up the often-strained relationships between soldiers and locals.

But the work was risky. Between 2006 and 2011, at least six interpreters were killed alongside Canadian soldiers and many others wounded.

The risk followed them off the fighting fields and many interpreters reported being followed or harassed by the Taliban because they helped the Canadians.

Some found themselves ostracized by their families and friends, lest the Taliban come after them as well.

Allied countries set up special programs to help endangered workers leave Afghanistan as militaries began pulling out and Canada chose to follow suit in 2009, designing a policy to fast-track their entry as permanent residents.

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Number+Afghans+resettled+Canada+nearly+double+original+estimate/7356514/story.html#ixzz29BSp10Pd

Key says he understands the case being made by Afghan interpreters seeking refuge in NZ.

Prime Minister John Key says he is "sympathetic" to the plight of Afghan interpreters seeking refuge in New Zealand after working for Kiwi troops.

Labour is calling for the Government to allow the interpreters working to be offered new homes in New Zealand.

Around 26 Afghan locals reportedly fear for their lives after helping the Defence Force during the conflict against the Taliban.

Key told reporters he believed the interpreters had "a legitimate position to put to the New Zealand Government".

"I can understand that they've worked for New Zealand with New Zealand's best interests at heart and it's at least feasible that there is some risk to them if they remain in Afghanistan," he said.

"Now we need to tease and test all of that out, but I can at least understand the case they're making."

But Key said while he was sympathetic to the interpreters' argument, the Government needed to establish "whether the risks are real and genuine to them".

He said Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman was putting together a Cabinet paper with recommendations about how to proceed.

A special program to offer a new life in Canada to people who acted as interpreters for Canadian soldiers and diplomats in Afghanistan — sometimes at the risk of their lives — has brought in nearly double the numbers expected.

Officials had planned for only 450 Afghans to eventually make the move when they began a special immigration program for interpreters and their families in 2009.

With Canada's combat mission ended and a year after the program stopped accepting applications, around 800 former interpreters and their families are now living across the country.

Afghanistan interpreter Ghulam Wali Noori is shown at his home in Ottawa. As an interpreter working with the Canadian military, he was a prime target of insurgents. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
The original estimate was based on consultations with the military and Foreign Affairs Department about the number of interpreters or cultural advisers used by soldiers and diplomats in Kandahar, says Citizenship and Immigration.

It's unclear how many there actually were over the five years of fighting; the military has said it had more than 6,000 requests for their services.

'Terps, as they were known, were the eyes, ears and mouths for soldiers on the battlefield and diplomats in the meeting rooms of Afghanistan.

In addition to translating, they helped teach Canadians the culture and customs of the country and many were often called upon to help shore up the often-strained relationships between soldiers and locals.

But the work was risky. Between 2006 and 2011, at least six interpreters were killed alongside Canadian soldiers and many others wounded.

The risk followed them off the fighting fields and many interpreters reported being followed or harassed by the Taliban because they helped the Canadians.

More than two dozen Afghan interpreters working for New Zealand troops in Bamiyan province are pleading with the Government not to abandon them to "certain death" when the troops withdraw next year.

One interpreter was so concerned about his fate he said he would ask Kiwi soldiers to shoot him and his family rather than be left to the Taleban.

There are 26 Afghan interpreters working for the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Bamiyan.

They are "hoping and praying" they will be granted asylum in New Zealand, believing they will be captured, tortured and slaughtered by insurgent forces, along with their families.

High-level government discussions to protect the interpreters are under way and the Sunday Star-Times understands a decision will be announced soon.

The offices of Prime Minister John Key and Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman released statements to the Star-Times saying the "PRT interpreters' concerns about their safety following the withdrawal of the PRT in April 2013" were acknowledged.

The issue was under "active consideration" and any decision would rest with Cabinet.

Home Office to reconsider asylum plea of Afghan interpreter blown up on British front line patrol after extraordinary U-turn
Father of three, 26, suffered horrific wounds in Taliban attack that killed Army captain
Border Agency told him 14 months after application was submitted that he had no evidence of being either Afghan or under threat
Change of heart after complaints from MPs and media coverage
By DAVID WILLIAMS

PUBLISHED: 14:10 GMT, 2 October 2012 | UPDATED: 18:50 GMT, 2 October 2012

Comments (40)
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British Army translator Mohammad Rafi Hottak pictured showing his scars following the Taliban blast

The Home Office made an extraordinary U-turn tonight and withdrew a letter telling an Afghan interpreter blown up by the Taliban while on patrol with British troops his asylum application was rejected.

The rare about-turn came hours after publicity highlighting the farcical handling of the case of Mohammad Rafi Hottak by the controversial UK Border Agency, whose refusal of the claim was met with disbelief and anger by the military and MPs.

Last night the Agency said it would look again at the case after it appeared that the most basic checks had not been made by officers investigating the 26 year-old's claim despite it having been lodged 14 months ago.

A delighted Mr Hottak hailed the decision as a 'victory for common sense', adding that: ' The reasons given for rejection were unbelievable and showed thorough checks had just not been made in my case.

'I now have renewed hope but I am still cautious given what has happened… this latest decision to cancel the letter shows at least that people are still working to help me find justice. I still can't believe the letter I was sent.'

In that astonishing letter of rejection, which raised new questions about the handling of asylum cases, Mr Hottak was told one of the reasons he would not be allowed to build a new life in Britain was because Home Office investigators did not have evidence of how he was injured.

Incredibly, the father of three was also told he had provided no evidence he was an Afghan, he had the same fingerprints as another asylum claimant and there was no evidence his life was under threat if he had remained in his homeland.

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In fact, all the details could have been simply obtained from Ministry of Defence records, including those of how Mr Hottak was blown up by an improvised explosives device – a blast that killed a British officer – and that his life was saved by surgeons in hospital at Camp Bastion.

A devastated Mr Hottak, whose asylum case has already been raised in Parliament, claimed: 'It is as if the Home Office has been blind to my case and what happened to me and fellow interpreters in Afghanistan. I have army officers who I worked with supporting my case but this appears to mean nothing.

Captain John McDermid, pictured with his wife, Gill, was killed in the blast that injured Mr Hottak

'I am depressed and I will appeal, I always saw Britain as a just country that I was proud to serve, that provided shelter for those whose lives were at risk but this has shaken that belief. All I want is a better future for myself and my kids.'

The rejection shocked both MPs and those in the military who worked beside Mr Hottak in the most dangerous parts of Helmand province.

Julian Brazier MP, a member of the Defence select Committee, said he would raise the matter with both Immigration and Armed Forces ministers while Sir Menzies Campbell, the former Liberal Democrat leader, called for Home Secretary Theresa May to investigate.

One soldier has written to the Home Office speaking at his 'disappointment' as the handling of a 'hero's' case, saying Britain was turning its back on him and branding him a liar.

Faced with personal death threats and those to his family, Mr Hottak had paid £8,000 to people smugglers more than a year ago, to reach Britain, walking into a Central London police station to make his plea for asylum.

Fluent in three languages, including English, Mr Hottak worked for the US military as an interpreter in 2004 before switching to the British two years later following in the footsteps of his elder brother.

It was on the morning of November 14, 2007 that while on foot patrol with a joint British Afghan force near the centre of Sangin, Helmand province, an IED was triggered.

Mr Hottak's boss Captain John McDermid, 43, of 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment was killed, Mr Hottak badly wounded.

He still recalls the huge flash, the noise and the searing pain as he was thrown several metres into the air before ending up bleeding profusely as Army medics rushed to the aid of the injured.

The interpreter suffered horrific shrapnel wounds to the head, neck, arms and chest that required 170 stitches. He also temporarily lost the use of his hand and was deaf in one ear for more than a year.

Julian Brazier, MP, (left) said he would raise the matter with immigration and Armed Forces ministers while Sir Menzies Campbell said he would ask Home Secretary Theresa May (right) to investigate before the U-turn

Mr Hottak was injured in a blast while patrolling with UK troops in Helmand Province, Afghanistan (file picture)

Thanks to the work of doctors, Mr Hottak returned to work after three months but was unfit for front line duties and was given a job at Camp Souter, the main British recruitment base in Kabul, the Afghan capital.

His role involved interviewing prospective interpreters as well as liasing with the families of colleagues killed or injured, sometimes returning the remains of the dead to their families.

It was then that he began to receive death threats both by letter and telephone – threats he told British officers about. Some threatened him, some his family. He moved house and changed telephones but the threats continued.

Keith Vaz described Mr Hottak's treatment as 'a disgrace'

One Taliban letter referred to Mr Hottak and his brother by name. It warned: 'They are doing a very important job for the aggressive infidels, so we want you to catch them and deal with them through Islamic Sharia,' said the note, hand-written in Pashtu, the main language in southern Afghanistan.

'If you can't catch these two, catch their father so they will come to rescue him.'

At one point a British officer wrote him a note to take to a senior police officer in Kabul to ask him for help. But Mr Hottak said: 'The first thing the police officer said was, “You work for the Nato forces so they should look after you, not us. There are hundreds of people like you and I cannot provide bodyguards for all of them'."

Underlining the threats was the fact that the Taliban had been responsible for the kidnap and murders of translators as well as the intimidation of their families who were warned that unless their relatives left the British, they would become targets.

More than 40 Afghan translators are said to have resigned from working with the British because of the threats.

Mr Hottak, who has not seen his youngest child, is now living in a hostel in Leicester, where he is unable to work and receives £36 a week to live on.

He is doing a course at a local college and says : 'Other translators have been granted asylum but they are refusing me on the weakest possible reasons. I have Army officers who vouch for who I am, what happened to me and the fact that I served loyally and well with British troops yet this seems to count for very little.'

He added : 'I am desperate and depressed, I risked my life to help British soldiers, my family and Afghanistan and it seems to count for nothing.

'I read reports of killers and criminals who have been granted asylum – it seems that they are desirable but people like me who have never done anything wrong and whose life will be in danger in my own home because I worked with British troops are not. It is a strange situation.'

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee and Mr Hottak's MP, has called the young man's treatment a disgrace.

Mr Hottak said that one reason for his asylum rejection was that investigators could not confirm that his surname was Afghan – something that could have been done simply through Google.

Another was that military identification cards supporting the application contained different spellings of his name – Afghan names are spelt in a variety of ways when written in English.

Last night a UKBA spokesperson said: ‘The increased level of publicity around this case has led to new and significant information, which was not provided during the application process, coming to light today.

'As a result of this additional information, we have informed Mr Hottak this evening that we have withdrawn our decision and will fully review his application.’

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Add your comments Comments (40)
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This case merely identifies how intellectually bereft the Immigration Department are. The useless case officer who was identified as a female on the news last night, didn't have the common sense or the intellect to carry out her job by making simple basic checks. She should be dismissed from the service.
- Rayjon , Spain, 03/10/2012 09:16
Click to rate Rating 36 Report abuse
Taliban, terroists, criminals all sorts who hate us and our way of life seem to have no problem whatsoever staying in the country, at our expence. Someone who help us is up for deportation? What a mess UK plc is
- bertbucket , Swindon, 03/10/2012 09:00
Click to rate Rating 47 Report abuse
Loyalty and honour mean nothing in Britain today.
- GR , London, 03/10/2012 05:31
Click to rate Rating 42 Report abuse
He and his family can live at my house here in the U.S. Does anybody in the highest of elected offices in the U.K. have the clearance or ability to put a signature on a piece of paper and just make this right?
- Squirmyntwitch , Las Vegas, 03/10/2012 03:14
Click to rate Rating 28 Report abuse
This is disgusting !!!! Shameful treatment by typical jobs worth plebeians !
- banki , Shaftesbury Dorset, 03/10/2012 03:14
Click to rate Rating 28 Report abuse
@Deborah, It is the UK border agency at fault NOT the home office.
- Amar , England (UK), 03/10/2012 02:03
Click to rate Rating 16 Report abuse
This man, and his family, should have been offered passage to the UK after his injuries. What a disgrace.
- Nicky , Lincs, 03/10/2012 01:43
Click to rate Rating 31 Report abuse
Since Cameron became PM U-Turns are the norm.
- Mike_expat_Brit_OAP , Khon Kaen, Thailand, 03/10/2012 00:57
Click to rate Rating 14 Report abuse
Who's running this madhouse?
- Over Taxed and Over Here , Whitby UK, 02/10/2012 23:55
Click to rate Rating 20 Report abuse
Give him a "Dummy Hook" then he can stay here and claim mi££ions of the taxpayer!.
- Royal785 , Dundee, 02/10/2012 23:03
Click to rate Rating 26 Report abuse
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2211760/Asylum-application-rejected-Afghan-interpreter-blown-Taliban-patrol-British-troops.html#ixzz28FvaLfJq
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Home Office to reconsider asylum plea of Afghan interpreter blown up on British front line patrol after extraordinary U-turn
Father of three, 26, suffered horrific wounds in Taliban attack that killed Army captain
Border Agency told him 14 months after application was submitted that he had no evidence of being either Afghan or under threat
Change of heart after complaints from MPs and media coverage
By DAVID WILLIAMS
PUBLISHED: 14:10 GMT, 2 October 2012 | UPDATED: 18:50 GMT, 2 October 2012
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British Army translator Mohammad Rafi Hottak pictured showing his scars following the Taliban blast
The Home Office made an extraordinary U-turn tonight and withdrew a letter telling an Afghan interpreter blown up by the Taliban while on patrol with British troops his asylum application was rejected.
The rare about-turn came hours after publicity highlighting the farcical handling of the case of Mohammad Rafi Hottak by the controversial UK Border Agency, whose refusal of the claim was met with disbelief and anger by the military and MPs.
Last night the Agency said it would look again at the case after it appeared that the most basic checks had not been made by officers investigating the 26 year-old's claim despite it having been lodged 14 months ago.
A delighted Mr Hottak hailed the decision as a 'victory for common sense', adding that: ' The reasons given for rejection were unbelievable and showed thorough checks had just not been made in my case.
'I now have renewed hope but I am still cautious given what has happened… this latest decision to cancel the letter shows at least that people are still working to help me find justice. I still can't believe the letter I was sent.'
In that astonishing letter of rejection, which raised new questions about the handling of asylum cases, Mr Hottak was told one of the reasons he would not be allowed to build a new life in Britain was because Home Office investigators did not have evidence of how he was injured.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2211760/Asylum-application-rejected-Afghan-interpreter-blown-Taliban-patrol-British-troops.html#ixzz28FubM21I
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Afghan interpreter 'betrayed' as UK rejects asylum bid

By Caroline Wyatt
Defence correspondent, BBC News

The MoD said it values the contribution of local Afghans who support its military operations
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An Afghan man who was badly injured by a Taliban bomb while working as an interpreter for British forces in Afghanistan has been told he has not been granted asylum in Britain.

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) told the 25-year-old that his asylum application was being rejected because he had given insufficient proof of his identity and work.

It also said that his claims of death threats to himself and his family by the Taliban were not accepted.

The man - whom the BBC has agreed not to name fully on its website in order to protect his family in Afghanistan - said he was bitterly disappointed by the decision.

Mohammed has shown the BBC pieces of evidence - including letters from several of his British Army bosses and nine identity cards - which make it clear he worked for British forces in Afghanistan for around five years and for American forces for two years prior to that.

His body still bears the scars of the Taliban bomb which blew up the unit he was working with in Sangin on 14 November 2007 - an attack that killed the British Army captain, John McDermid.

The Afghan interpreter suffered shrapnel wounds to the head, neck, arms and chest and was deaf in one ear for over a year. He still suffers from headaches and depression.

Wounded interpreter denied UK asylum
02 October 2012

An afghan interpreter who was seriously injured in a Taliban bomb attack which killed a British soldier has been refused asylum because the Home Office do not believe he worked with the military.

Mohammad Rafi Hottak, 26, claimed asylum in July 2011 saying the Taliban had made death threats against him for his work with the British and American military as an interpreter.

Hottak was injured in the 14 November bomb attack which killed army Captain John McDermid in 2007.

Hottak spent five years as an interpreter for the British army and two years with the US military, and his fingerprints are stored on a US military database. He also still has military identity cards, although the multiple different spellings of his name used on the cards were cited as grounds for suspicion.

Hottak arrived in the UK in July 2011, but the Home Office began to doubt his identity as he spoke fluent English during his asylum interview, rather than Afghan languages Dari or Pashto.

A British army officer and another Afghan interpreter have vouched for his identity as part of a campaign run by The Times, but the Home Office rejection letter said that Hottak's indentity and work with the military was "not accepted".

The Ministry of Defence does not keep central records of interpreters, instead storing records locally in Afghanistan, meaning the MoD could not verify his employment.

Three Nato soldiers and their translator have been killed in a bombing in eastern Afghanistan.

NATO FORCES IN Afghanistan say that a bombing in the country’s east has killed three international service members and their translator.
Coalition spokesman Major Adam Wojack says the attack happened on Monday morning. He declined to provide further details, saying the alliance is still gathering information about the incident.
Afghan officials said there was a suicide bombing against a joint Afghan-international patrol in Khost province in the east early Monday that killed three civilians but did not provide details on military casualties.

Three Nato service members and translator killed in Afghanistan bombing

AP MONDAY 01 OCTOBER 2012

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Three Nato service members and their translator have been killed in a bombing in eastern Afghanistan, officials said today.

Coalition spokesman Major Adam Wojack said the attack happened this morning but declined to provide further details, saying the alliance is still gathering information about the incident.

Afghan officials said there was a suicide bombing against a joint Afghan-international patrol in Khost province in the east early today in which three civilians were killed but did not provide details on military casualties.

Afghanistan: Bomber kills 14 including 3 US troops
Updated: Monday, 01 Oct 2012, 10:57 AM EDT
Published : Monday, 01 Oct 2012, 2:45 AM EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber driving a motorcycle packed with explosives rammed his bike into a joint Afghan-American patrol on Monday morning in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 14 people including three U.S. troops and their translator, officials said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, which came a day after the U.S. death toll in the war in Afghanistan reached 2,000 troops. Such joint patrols are considered key to the training of Kabul's security forces but have been cut back by a string of insider shootings of international troops by their Afghan allies.

In Monday's attack, the bomber struck a group of Afghan police and American troops shortly after they got out of their vehicles to walk through a market area in Khost city, the capital of Khost province, said provincial government spokesman Baryalai Wakman.

Six civilians and four police officers were killed in the blast, Wakman said. He said the police officers were part of a specialized quick-reaction force.

(RTTNews) - Three NATO soldiers and a contracted interpreter have been killed in a "suicide IED (improvised explosive device) attack" in eastern Afghanistan, The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Monday.

It did not identify the deceased soldiers or reveal their nationalities in accordance with its policy of leaving casualty identification to the relevant national authorities. Nevertheless, most ISAF troops stationed in eastern Afghanistan are Americans.

Meanwhile, media reports indicated that the suicide attack happened in the eastern Afghan city of Khost. They quoted witnesses as saying that at least 13 people, including the three ISAF soldiers, were killed in the explosion.

According to witnesses, the dead included civilians as well as Afghan police officers. At least 60 people were also injured in the attack. Local officials feared that the death toll could rise further as many of the injured were in critical condition. The Taliban is reported have claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to media estimates, some 347 ISAF personnel have been killed in Afghanistan so far this year. Notably, most of the ISAF casualties have been in Southern Afghanistan, where the foreign coalition is attempting to retain control over the territories captured from Taliban militants over the past two years.

Taliban suicide attack kills 20, including NATO troops
By Khan Mohammad (AFP) – 1 hour ago
KHOST, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber tore through an Afghan-NATO foot patrol in a crowded city on Monday, killing at least 20 people, including three foreign troops and their interpreter, officials said.
Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility for the attack near a market in the eastern city of Khost. Six Afghan police and 10 civilians were also killed, and 62 were wounded, provincial governor's spokesman Baryalai Rawan, told AFP.
Authorities had earlier given a death toll of four Afghan police and six civilians.
"Today at around 8:30 am (0400 GMT) a suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeted a joint patrol in Khost city in a crowded area," the governor's office said.
NATO's US-led International Security Assistance Force confirmed that three NATO service members and an ISAF-contracted interpreter had been killed in the attack.
The Taliban Islamists said on their website that the suicide attack was carried out by "a hero mujahid, Shohaib, from Kunduz", claiming that eight foreigners and six Afghan soldiers were killed.
The deaths take coalition casualties to at least 347 this year, according to an AFP tally. NATO has more than 100,000 troops fighting the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, but they are due to pull out by the end of 2014.
Joint NATO-Afghan operations had been temporarily restricted last month after a spike in insider attacks, in which Afghan security forces turned their weapons against their coalition allies.
Last week, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said most joint operations have resumed, but could not give any precise details on numbers.