Wedged between roaring A34 traffic on one side and luxury car showrooms on the other is the Courtyard by Marriott Oxford South in Didcot - home to roughly 100 Afghan refugees since September last year.
Nearly half are children, forced to seek sanctuary in the UK after the Taliban seized Kabul in August last year amid fears of being tortured or killed.
Except that - eight months on - after fleeing the horrors of Taliban rule, they say Britain hardly feels like a sanctuary. They say the UK feels increasingly “like a prison”, and they are apprehensive about what the future holds.
Inside the marquee, three feet from the entrance to the hotel’s Oxen bar and grill, one guest Anwar Khan* tells The Independent, “We have no choice but to eat here. We’ve seen the rats a few times. We have some videos.”
The Independent saw photos and video evidence of rats scurrying around near disposable cutlery and toasters in the marquee where Afghan families sit together to eat their meals.
The hotel’s general manager Santiago Monteiro said the authorities acted immediately and pest control was brought in the same day. When The Independent visited, there were no rats.
Four guests claimed the hotel, Home Office and Asylum Welcome staff spoke to them rudely and their repeated requests for fresher food have gone unanswered. One of the contributors later withdrew his comments fearing for his family’s security.
The Independent also spoke to Afghan people in London hotels, who also raised grievances about their complaints being ignored, poor quality food, a lack of mental health support, poor communication by the UK Home Office, and the sense that they were now being overshadowed by the Ukraine war. The names of London hotels have been withheld, as the three guests said they fear deportation.
The Courtyard by Marriott took nearly a week to respond to The Independent’s repeated requests for a reply to the guest’s accusations. When they finally responded, the hotel sent a statement along with a letter signed by some Afghan guests, “thanking Mr Santiago and his staff for their efforts”.
Since arriving last August, more than 11,000 Afghans are marooned in more than 100 hotels across the UK, The Independent understands.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) spokesperson said, more than 4,750 Afghans have moved into settled accommodation. A further 1,450 have been matched to properties and are ready to move in.
‘Frozen food for seven months’
For Mr Khan and thousands who wait their turn, patience is wearing thin. “We have been eating frozen food for seven months now,” alleged Mr Khan.
He felt that some of their cultural beliefs and practices were not respected.
Mr Khan said that more than 21 women told Asylum Welcome that they can’t sit in front of the men who are unknown to them.
“They are not respecting our religion at all, he said. “My wife was crying for three days, saying “Why did you bring me to this country?”
When the hotel set up the marquee, Mohammed Zazay says it was intended as a dining area for the Afghans. However, some of the refugees felt they were being treated differently to other hotel guests.
“We told them we are not happy, ” he says. Before the marquee was set up, the guests were eating inside the hotel. There used to be other small marquees for activities, he adds.
“I had a thousand hopes, now I have nothing”
At an East London hotel, Afghan student Fawzia, living with her parents and siblings, feels hopeless. “I had a thousand hopes but now I have nothing,” she said, unsure of what happens next. “No one tells us anything.”
She said the food is “not tasty, especially in Ramadan. In the evening, the meat isn’t fully baked.” Despite her complaints, she said no one pays attention.
One former 333 Special Forces soldier said the Ukrainians are a priority now and Afghans feel abandoned. “Why have we been forgotten? We fought shoulder to shoulder with UK troops in Afghanistan,” he says.
A spokesperson for the Courtyard Oxford South said to make guests comfortable they have created different eating spaces, a children’s play area and a prayer room.
Since the start of Ramadan, the hotel said they provide meals to fit in with Ramadan timings.
“We offer our guests a choice of two main courses of freshly cooked meals, with fresh vegetables, side dishes and fruit and salad,” a spokesperson said.
“Our chef and management team regularly meet with guests to discuss our rotating menus, and where there are special dietary requirements, we will always offer alternatives.”
Mark Goldring of Oxford-based Asylum Welcome told The Independent, that the marquee was set up to give the guests space, privacy, and a chance to organise themselves as they pleased.
“There are mixed views among the Afghan guests as to how and where people eat. We are trying to make sure that all voices are heard and not only those of a few,” he adds.
“I’m not judging whether it [the marquee] is fit for purpose. The challenge of using it for food and for other activities is a real one,” Mr Goldring said.
Asylum Welcome set up a team to support new arrivals with registering for benefits, NHS, and so on. Once the initial administration was completed, Mr Goldring says his work shifted to supporting children in schools, young adults in college, language lessons, day trips around the UK and other activities.
Mr Zazay said the UK Home Office “wants the money to show that they have a system.” The Home Office representative has never answered any of our questions. His response is “I don’t know, this is not my department.”
“Another time, the Home Office sent a 62-seater bus for six people travelling to Birmingham,” Mr Khan said, questioning the waste of resources.
Mr Goldring said the tensions are real. “We will liaise with the guest but can’t really satisfy all .”
‘Most people will be on benefits after leaving the hotel’
All Afghan citizens who arrived in the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) have the right to work, access to education and healthcare and are able to apply for public funds.
But the reality is that most people will be on benefits initially when they leave the hotel as professional qualifications from another country aren’t automatically recognised in the UK, Mr Goldring explained.
“You have to take language tests and persuade an employer to respect your experience. It doesn’t mean you will not get a job, it’s just that the process is not simple or quick,” Mr. Goldring said.
The lack of permanent housing and the right documents automatically interferes with most Afghans’ ability to find work with some saying that organisations are less inclined to invest in them in the absence of an address.
The UK Home Office said it does not comment on individual cases.
A Home Office spokesperson said councils have been given integration funding to support those starting a new life in the UK, with £20,520 per person provided over three years to meet the costs.
“Operation Warm Welcome is an ongoing resettlement effort. Smaller numbers of school-age children and young people continue to arrive from Afghanistan via other countries, and councils are actively placing school age children who have arrived more recently in schools,” a UK Home Office spokesperson said.
“If they find me a house at midnight, I will run to it,” Mr Khan said.
** Names have been changed to protect identities
Additional reporting by Matiullah Shirzad.
