"I don't know how long I can survive": The Middlesbrough man stranded in Afghanistan
Report by Amy Lea.
A man from Teesside says he is in fear of his life and living in a stone shelter in the mountains in freezing temperatures in Afghanistan after getting trapped in the country when he visited family there.
He got in touch with ITV Tyne Tees to plead for help - his wife is pregnant, he has no food and has no-where to live.
He says he has witnessed fighting over food, violence and people selling their own children to access medical care.
He has lived in Middlesbrough for over two decades and has been a British Citizen since 2008, but now says he feels 'forgotten about' and 'abandoned'.
We are not showing his face or using his real name to protect his identity - we are going to call him 'Ahmed'.
Ahmed's story
Ahmed flew to Afghanistan in May to marry, and while he was in the country his Mother died from COVID 19.
After her funeral, he had a flight booked home but that was cancelled when the country fell to the Taliban in August this year (2021).
Since then, he has been desperately trying to get home.
Foreign Office advice was that he should try to get a hotel in Kabul to be processed where he would have been able to get his wife a visa to head to the UK.
Ahmed doesn't need a visa as he is already a British Citizen.
He fled the Taliban in 2001 and came to live in the UK where he has worked in a shop, as a mechanic and in takeaways.
Due to chaotic scenes in the city and a suicide bombing he was unable to reach this hotel, and despite talking to the British Army at the airport, he was unable to get on a flight home, with priority given to those who had worked for the US and UK forces during operations in the country.
Ahmed was then forced to live in a make-shift refugee camp, fearing the Taliban would find him and kill him due to the fact he is a British Citizen.
For several weeks now, he has been living in a makeshift shelter - almost like a cave - in the hills of Afghanistan after the camp was overrun by the Taliban.
He relies on local shepherds to bring him bread every 2-3 days, and a small solar panel to charge a phone.
Temperatures at night are below freezing and his wife is pregnant and sick.
Getting home
The Home Office say they are aware of Ahmed's case. They sent us this statement:
Seats on flights back to the UK are currently offered on an 'ad hoc' basis by the Qatari Government, but the Home Office say they will only take those who have a visa valid for travel to the UK.
There are no details on when the flights will be available or where they will leave from.
Ahmed's wife is not a British Citizen and cannot currently get a visa. This relies on passing an English test and proving dependants can be financially supported and has to be processed at a consulate.
Currently, this is the challenge Ahmed faces when trying to leave Afghanistan with his wife to return to the UK.
What is being done to help?
The office of Andy McDonald, the Middlesbrough MP say they are aware of Ahmed's case and are doing all they can to help - including writing directly to the Home Secretary, urgently asking for more work to be done to help bring him - and other trapped British citizens home
The British Red Cross said the situation on the ground in Afghanistan is becoming increasingly difficult, a harsh winter is expected with snow, sub-freezing temperatures and a food shortage that will affect millions.
This will be made worse by political instability and a lack of infrastructure on the ground.
How many other people are also stuck in Afghanistan from the North East?
The numbers are very difficult to verify. We have contacted all our MPs in the region - some have replied and some haven't, but the picture remains mixed.
Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah said there are currently five people who normally live in Newcastle who are stuck in Afghanistan.
The office for Nick Brown MP (Newcastle East) said they have had 40 people contact them from the area regarding concern for 300 people stuck in Afghanistan - although most of those are Afghan nationals.
In Middlesbrough Andy McDonald said there are eight adults and 17 members of their families who live, work and study on Teesside and are trying to come home.
Some MPs though said they were not aware of any people from their area currently in Afghanistan.
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We have seen documents and emails from Ahmed to back up his story, including flight bookings, correspondence from the Foreign Office and have checked his details with the Home Office and his local MPs office - they are both treating his case as genuine.
We have also spoken to a friend of Ahmed's who is still in the UK to clarify his situation.