Native translators in Afghanistan say they have been unfairly treated by British armed forces, risking their lives with little or no compensation.

A report by the UK's Channel Four this week featured Yusuf, who spent several weeks in a coma after being caught in a bomb blast while interpreting for the British Army.

Mr Yusuf was given medical treatment immediately, before being moved to an Afghan hospital in Kandahar. His family only found out about his plight eight days later, when doctors found the phone number of an uncle on his person.

Since returning home - minus some teeth and his right eye - Yusuf says he fears Taliban reprisals, but is offered no protection, and claims his attempts to gain compensation from the British Army have been fruitless.

"I never thought that I would get injured or killed, but I thought that if I got injured I would be helped by the British because I helped them here all the time and I sacrificed for them," Yusuf told Channel Four.

"No one sacrifices their life for just $1,500, so now I am very disappointed that I have not been helped."

The UK's Ministry of Defence says it takes its responsibility towards local employees "very seriously," and denies abandoning Yusuf, saying it is "in the process of agreeing compensation."

Translators are a vital component of the military's mission in Afghanistan, providing an essential link between the armed forces and local communities.

Afghan translators regularly risk injury and death by being involved in military operations. There is an ever-present danger of being caught in the crossfire during the course of their work, and Taliban attacks are possible if their identities are revealed.

While translators in Iraq are given help seeking asylum in the UK, their counterparts in Afghanistan are not being given the same opportunity.

21 November 2009

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