A month since
fleeing the country following its takeover by the Taliban, refugees from
Afghanistan are slowly settling in the United Kingdom. And sport has once again
shown why it is called the great equaliser, transcending cultural and political
borders to momentarily bind two peoples in unity.

Such is the
case in Buckinghamshire, where Afghan refugees staying at a hotel in Newport
Pagnell took on a local team in a friendly but competitive game of cricket –
organised by the town’s Baptist church and council.  The game ended in a draw.

Among the
refugee team were personnel who worked with the British embassy and military in
Afghanistan. Nazir, a who worked as a translator for the UK troops, said his
family had to relocate in Afghanistan as many as 12 times as they were “being
threatened by the Taliban,” the Daily Mail quoted him saying.

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He also
said that while his family of nine made it out, his brother and sister-in-law
could not, and he fears for their safety.

“I have
spent 43 years in my homeland with my relatives and my countrymen so it was
really very, very difficult for me to leave, but I was compelled with my family
to leave, because we have to live,” the 43-year-old said.

He further
said that the “Taliban can’t be trusted” and that he has “deep concerns” about his
family left behind in Afghanistan. He said that the militants are torturing,
threatening and intimidating his family for his location, “because they have
got our list…the Taliban have access to some of the interpreter list data”.

Also Read | Taliban hoist flag in Panjshir, Afghan’s resistance stronghold

He also
hopes his family can be evacuated from Afghanistan, but “the process still
belongs to the government”.

Meanwhile,
Shams, who worked as a communications officer at the British Embassy in Kabul
for ten years, said he and his family “feel safe and appreciate the opportunity”
to be in the UK.

“But some
of my colleagues and relatives are in hiding from the Taliban.”

He also feels
it is the UK’s responsibility to evacuate his colleagues who were left behind
in Afghanistan. He would also like to remind Home Secretary Priti Patel of her statement
that she “owes a debt of gratitude to the Afghan people”. “I think that’s the
best way to put it, and we really hope the UK will continue to try its best to
evacuate the people who deserve it.”