‘I married an Afghan migrant – he put me through hell’ | UK | News

A woman who married an Afghan immigrant has told how her life turned into a nightmare after he exploited her to gain access to the UK. The British woman married the man after they struck up a relationship when she felt “felt sorry for him” as a newcomer to the UK with nothing to his name apart from the clothes he stood on. Afghanistan is one of the key countries from which migrants seeking asylum in the UK arrive.

The kind-hearted woman and the migrant, named Amelia and Javad to protect their identities, met in Kent and Amelia said she bought clothes for Javad and paid for English lessons and lawyers to help him apply for asylum. Early on in their meeting, she told The Telegraph that Javad was “sweet” and even “cycled in the rain to bring him flowers.” The relationship improved and the couple later married and had a daughter, but Amelia quickly noticed a change in her husband’s behavior as he became increasingly abusive and controlling.

The Telegraph reported He said Javad’s asylum application was accepted last year, but his ex-wife, from whom he divorced months after the birth of their child, told the newspaper that he now felt completely alone.

She claims Javad used the birth of their child to help her successfully apply for asylum, which had been rejected multiple times before, and has traveled to the country many times and even married there, although she claims she now lives in fear of returning home to Afghanistan.

Amelia said the Home Office ignored reports of Javad’s apparent behavior contrary to what he claimed was his asylum claim. She says heartbreakingly that she feels ignored by both the Home Office and the justice system.

Recalling the abuse, Amelia said Javad threatened to kill her, threatened to kill her child, and held a butcher knife to her throat while she was pregnant with that child. At one point, he even appeared at home, standing at the end of his bed.

He said: “I thought you could kill me in my sleep and I wouldn’t have time to fight.

“Looking back, it’s clear to me that our relationship, our marriage, and him wanting to have children with me were all part of him doing whatever it took to stay in England.”

Amelia also said that Javad followed her, constantly monitored her movements and forbade her from talking to other men or her friends. He said he would call her “whore,” “b****,” and “slut” every day.

Nearly 6,000 weddings have reportedly taken place in the UK between British and Afghan immigrants since 2019. Most are probably happy and legitimate, but Amelia’s case shows how some people can be exploited. When an immigrant has a British child, deportation and removal can become much more difficult for authorities.

In her case, Amelia said Javad had acted “subtly” and “didn’t realize it at the time”, adding: “But now the damage is done. I’ve lost everything and will never live a normal life again.”

“My daughter never had a normal, happy childhood. Our lives are completely ruined and this is just collateral damage for her.”

In a worrying detail, Amelia claimed she wrote to the Home Office warning he was making threats against her and her child, but authorities still granted her asylum. He said he even provided evidence from his social media accounts that he had visited Afghanistan.

A Home Office spokesman told the Telegraph: “While we do not comment on individual cases, we take abuse of the immigration system extremely seriously. Where there is evidence of abuse, we will take tough action to challenge it and protect the integrity of our borders.”

From a justice system perspective, the family court reportedly found no evidence of Javad’s claim that he asked Amelia for his baby, asking her to marry his brother’s son. However, the allegations of physical assault, rape, threatening to burn down her house with her child, and detaining her and her baby against their will were proven. Javad is not yet facing prosecution and is reportedly living in a “mansion” in Afghanistan built with money earned illegally in the UK.

Amelia was diagnosed with severe, complex PTSD. “What he did to me is worse than killing me. My life is completely ruined,” he says. “I can’t have a relationship. I can’t work. I haven’t walked on the street for years. I live like a fugitive.”