Afghan refugees told UK government will cut funds for 'non-essential toiletries, medicine'

Afghan refugees housed in UK Home Office hotels have been told that the British government will stop providing them with non-essential toiletries and "over the counter medication", according to local media reports. 

A former guard at the British Embassy in Kabul received a letter, addressed from the Afghanistan Resettlement Arrivals Project, stating that the change in service provision would take effect come 11 February, according to a report by The Guardian. 

Faiz Mohammad Seddeqi, who had been staying in a northwest London hotel for almost six months with his wife and son, said the letter, seen by PA news agency, was a message from the Home Office that "we don't care about you". 

It's one way of saying "you need to manage everything yourself", he said. 

The UK Home Office told The New Arab: "[Afghans resettled in the UK] are now receiving Universal Credit, which covers the cost of their essential items, we advised they'd no longer receive the additional funding."

The UK has provided homes for more than 4,000 Afghan evacuees. 

The government promised to "give up to 20,000 people at risk [in Afghanistan] a new life in the UK" following the Taliban’s power grab in August. 

General Sir David Richards, the UK Chief of Defence Staff from 2010 to 2013, said it was time to accept that the war in Afghanistan had been lost and work with the UK’s longtime enemies. https://t.co/9lVinFqJsB

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) February 7, 2022