Lost in translation: the exile's friends

Last Modified: 13 Jun 2007
By: Channel 4 News

The third in a series of blogs from a former British army translator now in hiding.

"Today, my close friend and room mate decided to return home after suffering for months as a home-sick exile.

We worked side-by-side with the British army in Basra. This cheerful guy could no longer bear being away from family, friends and, as he always says, his great country.

We have tried to mitigate it, but found it very hard. I started to mention the efforts of the human rights watch in London and what director Tom Porteous has done for us and our case: his attempts to get the case to the public and a response from the British government. Without the help of this man and the organisation, we would be at home, frustrated and might even be dead.

I also reminded my friend about the assistance we received from a Welsh translator and her husband. They gave us moral and financial assistance. Without her support we would not have been able to continue because life is very difficult here.

One friend did not reply to the messages I sent him because he is afraid of the government and the army.

When I finished talking my friend started smiling. I am happy that I convinced him to stay.

He realised that it is unreasonable for a person to abandon his case, or retreat from a decision, if it concerns life and death and forgetting all the good people who helped him.

My friend said that after all the suffering, and the months of black days that we have spent here, he would not go back home. We have both reached the point of no return.

By talking about friends and the people who helped us, I realised that in this strange life every day we meet new friends at the same time as our old friends abandon us.

I have a friend I met when I was working for the army. He was always giving advice, even after the end of his service in Iraq. He did so after we arrived in Syria.

One day he told me he would speak on behalf of me if I wanted. But when I sent him a letter and asked him to talk to a journalist - who wanted to speak to a soldier without mentioning names - he would not answer.

After a short period of time he said that the government had punished the soldiers who had been arrested by Iranians and did not allow them to talk to the media.

Since that time I have not heard any news of him. I believe he didn't reply to the messages I sent him because, despite his long service, he is afraid of the government and the army. I understand his position. He will remain my friend in spite of everything.

Iraqi refugees continue to flee Iraq. Their destination is Syria because it is the nearest country. As a result, prices have risen. This doesn't only affect Iraqis but Syrians as well.

It is especially difficult at the moment. It's the tourist season and many people visit Syria - and Damascus, the oldest city in the world - from neighbouring countries (Saudis, Kuwaitis etc...) and from further afield.

Meanwhile news from home tells us that it's been very busy in Basra, with lots of demonstrations as the government (represented by terror parties) suppresses the people.

Because parties want the MNF out of the country so as to avail themselves of the gravel bulk of the cake, they have forgotten the nationality and the religion present during the tyrant Saddam's time.

They turned into vampires by night and politicians by day: they eat a dozen Sunnies for breakfast, a dozen Shiites for lunch and for dessert they eat a dozen Christians; they do not discriminate in killing.

Since my girlfriend rang to tell me she was being forced into a marriage, I have not thought about returning home.

While my friend and I were talking to each other my phone rang. It was my girlfriend. Without saying hi, she said: "Love, I am gonna marry because my parents have forced me."

I was shocked. I hoped that if I had been there - had I met her at university and agreed to marry her - I probably could do something about it. I cannot find more words to speak about her.

She used to phone me after midnight daily. Tonight she contacted me earlier. After a while I heard her father telling her to hang up. Before she did, though, she said she would not forget the days she spent with me. Since then I have not thought about returning home, even if I have to live in Somalia."

Iraqi translators feel 'abandoned'

For less than £10 a day, hundreds of Iraqis are putting their lives on the line as interpreters for the British Army in Basra. Many have now fled, having received death threats.

They claim they're being systematically targeted and murdered. The militias, jostling for control of Basra, consider them traitors. At least two have been killed this month.

Unlike the American government, which has announced plans to resettle 7,000 particularly vulnerable Iraqi refugees, the British government has made no such commitment.

Our foreign affairs correspondent, Jonathan Miller, tracked down four former British Army interpreters, all of them now on the run, who've appealed to Britain not to abandon them.

- Watch Jonathan Miller's report