A life spent waiting

Face creased with concern, the former Iraqi interpreter sits on a cheap-looking sofa in a rented flat in Amman as his two young children play on the floor and his pregnant wife rests in the bedroom.
“We are worried about what is going to happen to us. The [asylum] process takes too long. I am shocked,” the man said.
In April, he and his family boarded a plane to Jordan in the belief that they would fly on to Britain within weeks to escape a life of fear and intimidation in Iraq because of his previous job as an interpreter for the British military.
More than seven weeks later, they, along with about 30 other former interpreters and their dependents, are still waiting for news.
“We received a lot of promises,” said the man who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.
“I did not expect to go to the UK directly but maybe after six weeks or two months. If I had known that it would take a long time then I would not have come. My wife is pregnant. It is expensive here,” he said of Amman.
“If by the end of August we are still waiting we will quit from the programme and try to go somewhere else. We can’t go back to Iraq. My city is too dangerous.”
The stranded interpreters are trying to travel to Britain through a programme set up in cooperation with the UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR. It requires them to gain refugee status in Jordan before travelling to Britain, a process that takes time and offers no guarantees.
“We have been told that some maybe rejected,” said a second former interpreter who lives with his wife and 10-month-old daughter in the same apartment bloc as the first.
This man is one of a lucky handful of candidates, however, who were interviewed by a team from the Home Office who travelled to Amman last month. There is a chance he and his small family could receive the green light to travel to Britain as early as July. The others must continue to wait.
“I would like to go to the UK to save my life,” the 30-year-old said, sitting in his rented flat with three other former interpreters who also live in the bloc.
“If I go back to Iraq, I will be killed,” he said, looking down at his daughter who was gurgling without a care in the world as she crawled across the floor.
The interpreters have been living in hiding ever since they were forced to quit their work because of death threats from Shia militia groups in southern Iraq who view anyone who works for the British military as a traitor or a spy.
Many believe that their lives are in even greater danger now, after accepting the offer to travel to Jordan in a bid to make it to Britain. Rejection and being forced to return to Iraq would be a death sentence, they say.
“People back home think that we are already in London,” said a third interpreter, 28, one of the few men who is single and travelling alone.

An improvement in the security situation in the main southern Iraqi city of Basra following a major military operation a couple of months ago is small comfort to the interpreters who say that most of the militiamen are simply in hiding and will return once the Iraqi army leaves.
“The militias remember the interpreters. They do not forget us, believe me,” a fourth former interpreter said. Also aged 28, he is travelling with his wife and is similarly fed up with the long waiting game to reach Britain.
“We are very anxious about our future,” he said. “We do not know how long we will spend in Jordon. My wife does not believe that we will ever make it to Britain.”
Each interpreter was given a lump sum of cash by the British military in Basra before catching their various flights to Amman. Single men received 6,200 dollars, married men received 8,000 dollars. The Home Office says that the money is enough to cover them for six months. The Iraqis disagree.
The first interpreter with the pregnant wife supplemented the British money with 4,500 dollars of his own savings. Of the total sum, he only has 4,000 dollars left. Insufficient to live off for much longer, he said, adding: “It costs too much to deliver a baby in Jordon.”
The group is also petrified that their three-month visas will expire before they are granted asylum. Many doubt the Jordanian authorities will extent their stay in the country, though the Home Office insists that this will not be a problem.
With nothing to do but wait, the interpreters and their families spend every day cooped up inside their small apartments. Sometimes they venture out to the market to buy food, but goods are expensive in Jordan. To kill time, some go to the gym or use local Internet cafes. Most evenings they gather together in groups to discuss their situation.
“If someone tries to change the subject and talk about something else we go straight back to talking about our problem,” said the single interpreter. “No one calls us, no one asks for us. We are all under stress. We are all in shock.”

[Picture 1: Taxi in Amman;
Picture 2: Toys that the first interpreter's children were playing with;
Picture 3: The sparse kitchen inside one of the interpreter's apartments;
Picture 4: His rented bathroom.]

Comments

[Tom]

I wonder what Ms. Haynes thinks about Michael Ware's recent comments re: the media's coverage of Iraq? He basically said that they stopped doing their job a long time ago. And now nobody cares anymore.

If she agrees with that, aside from the paycheck what keeps her there?

[alannah cripps]

Outrageous that these brave Iraqi interpreters should be treated so poorly, after they have risked life & limb supporting the British government. Where are the men of honour in this country? Serving on the front-line in Iraq & Afghanistan!

That is treacherous and barbaric, but not unexpected. Who do we lobby on their behalf?

[Ahmed Zuhair]

All the interpreters they wish now to change the location to other country if they got the option for that, because they found the democracy country (UK) is full with raises!!!! It's better for the Interpreters now to find (a safer) country for them after all.

[ِAimen Al-Ibrahim]

Mr. Tom, Pay Check is not very important as delivering people's messages. If Miss Haynes and other media personnel do not do deliver the situation inside Iraq, how will the others can realize the truth about Iraq. Or you want to depend on the official media and press in Iraq and other countries. Dependent media helps Iraqis many times by making the International Community understand what is going on in Iraq.
You said that no one cares about those who quit their jobs, I am a former Interpreter and I know people who worked for the British for less than 6 months but the militia targeted them because they were helping the "occupiers"
You may do not care but those who have worked with Iraqis and understood the meaning of helping Coalition in their efforts to bring prosperity and brightness to Iraq's future understand why we are so disappointed by the actions of militia and insurgents.
I am happy that the British Government has understood the Interpreters efforts and they are trying to reward them. It is true that there are mistakes happened but I am hoping that these mistakes can be corrected and the whole process will be modified soon to give better results.
Thanks to the Times and many special thanks to you Debbie