In Farage's Britain, I would be sent back to my torturers
Twenty years ago, I had to leave my home country in central Africa to escape torture.
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Even though the journey was incredibly difficult I had no choice – I wouldn’t have survived if I’d stayed. If the UK hadn’t welcomed me, I have no doubt that I would have been sent straight back into the hands of my torturers.
Today, Nigel Farage’s party has outlined plans that Reform would pay the Taliban to take back migrants. This is not who we are as a country. The men, women and children who have fled Afghanistan are fleeing unimaginable horrors – like torture. And they desperately need our protection.
At Freedom from Torture, we see every day the human cost of torture: how it destroys lives and tears families apart. And we’ve worked with many survivors who have suffered unspeakable harm at the hands of the Taliban. In our therapy rooms, we see the long-term damage that torture has on people – it leaves deep psychological wounds and many survivors struggle with nightmares, flashbacks and a constant sense of fear.
At the same time, Farage has also threatened to pull the UK out of vital international commitments like the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which is a promise to defend our shared right to live a life free from torture. For centuries, the UK has been a leading voice against torture, helping to shape the very international laws that Reform is now proposing to destroy. These laws were created in the aftermath of the Second World War to protect all of us.
Most people in the UK are caring, and they want an asylum system that is fair, effective and humane. Indeed, when people fled Ukraine, communities across the UK opened their doors with extraordinary compassion. That same humanity must extend to anyone escaping war and persecution.
But threatening Afghan refugees with being sent back into the arms of the Taliban is not only cruel - it is shameful. No matter who we are or where we come from, we all deserve to live in safety. We cannot stay silent while Reform tries to suggest striking these types of deals with repressive regimes. If we want the UK to remain a place of welcome and protection for those fleeing torture and war, we must stand together with refugees and firmly reject the politics of hate and division.
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Kolbassia Haoussou is Director of Survivor Leadership & Influencing at Freedom from Torture.
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