The Afghan families still waiting to find a home in the UK

A year after the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan, Lauren Crosby Medlicott speaks to some of the refugees who have made it to Britain

The UK government promised to take 20,000 Afghan refugees over five years (AFP/Getty)

This time a year ago, news of the Taliban retaking control of Afghanistan was broadcast all over the world. We heard and read accounts of people desperate to escape from the impending tyranny that Afghanistan had worked incredibly hard to overthrow in the previous 20 years.

As an emergency response, The UK government promised to take 20,000 Afghan refugees over five years, starting on 6 January 2022, with 5,000 to be relocated within a year under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). Anyone resettled under the ACRS is promised indefinite leave to remain in the UK and the ability to apply for British citizenship after five years in the UK.

In the months following, the scheme focused on getting women, children, minorities, and those particularly at risk of danger from the Taliban out of Afghanistan and into the UK.