Protesters in central London last week. Photo: Steve Eason /Flickr /CC BY-NC 2.0

CAMDEN Council has set aside housing for Afghan refugees moving in to the borough as the evacuation from the central Asian country continues.

Council officials have initially identified five homes in the borough to house people fleeing persecution from the Taliban. The exodus has continued apace in the last week after the group swept across the country in recent weeks, as British and US forces prepare to leave.

Information packs have already been put together covering health, care, education and support available according to a council spokeswoman, which will be tailored to the area that they’re put up in.

Six hotels in Camden already provide homes for refugees, and those coming into the borough could stay there initially before finding longer-term accomodation.

A summit is being organised with faith leaders and other community groups to find other ways to support refugees.

Camden Council’s leader Councillor Georgia Gould said: “It is devastating to see the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Afghanistan. We are concerned for the safety of all Afghan citizens and are particularly concerned about the safety and rights of women and girls. The government must act quickly to ensure the safe and legal passage for those fleeing the Taliban and we stand ready in Camden to welcome refugees seeking safety.

“Camden has a long and proud history of helping refugees, often stepping in where government has failed to take action. We will welcome families into our borough and give them the support and help they need to rebuild their lives.

“We will work with all of our partners and local community organisations to offer the best help we can to families who find themselves in this desperate situation.”

On Wednesday the Ministry of Defence said it had evacuated more than 10,000 people, and more than 5,500 were Afghan nationals.

The Taliban has currently set a deadline of August 31 for foreign troops to withdraw and the evacuation to end, but roads to Kabul airport have been closed by the jihadist group in recent days.

In 2020 the UK took in 12,600 Afghan refugees. The government has said it will accept 20,000 refugees in the long term, with 5,000 in the first year as part of the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme.

A separate scheme for staff who worked with British troops in the country is also in place.

Camden housed 22 families, 82 people, over 18 months from Syria during the crisis in the last decade. The borough housed 10 people from camps in Calais between October 2016 and December 2016, in addition to other unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

The New Journal visited refugee camps in Dunkirk in January 2016, and saw the squalor people were living in hoping to seek sanctuary in the UK.

A multi-disciplinary clinic is already in place at the Prince of Wales Medical Centre in Kentish Town, which includes GP care, health visiting and early help for families. Support is also being given to any who arrive who are pregnant or have recently given birth.

Cllr Gould added: “This is not a political issue; it is a humanitarian one that must have support from all political parties. We are working with the government, all councils across London and the Mayor of London to coordinate our response.”