A COUNTY Durham teacher who is married to an Afghan has spoken of their feelings of despair and helplessness over the plight of his extended family following the fall of Kabul

Ruth Hall, a French teacher at Dene Academy, in Peterlee, said they are in turmoil over the fate of her husband’s mother, three sisters, their husbands and 17 children, who all fled in terror from the Taliban.

They made their way from the north of the country to apparent safety in Kabul - only to see it fall.

Ms Hall, met her husband when she went to Afghanistan to work for the German Development Service on their Basic Education Programme for Afghanistan in 2010. They couple now live in Seaham, with their six year old son.

She said: “My husband came over with a visa, he is safe. He just doesn’t know what to do about his family.

“Things had been going well and then the international troops pulled out of Afghanistan.

“The situation on the ground rapidly deteriorated. They knew that the Taliban was advancing on their town and that battles would be fought street-by-street and house-by-house.

“At Eid there was a brief ceasefire and they made the decision to escape from the violence by going to the capital, Kabul.

“They had a very arduous journey over rough terrain – squeezing 20 people into two small cars that kept breaking down. We breathed a sigh of relief when they made it to safety – only to realise a few weeks later that they weren’t safe at all as the Taliban marched into Kabul.”

She added: “The tension in our house is so high at the moment. My husband is constantly on the phone to his family or scrolling through the news to see the local developments. He can’t sleep or eat and I am constantly on the verge of tears.

“We are so worried about our extended family still in Afghanistan. All three of my sisters-in-law are teachers, one of my nieces just passed the entrance exams for university and she is devastated that, under the Taliban, she probably won’t be able to go.

“Their dreams are dashed. We want to help our family, but we don’t know how. They do not qualify for asylum as there is no threat to them personally, apart from the general threat to everyone living in a warzone under a tyrannical regime.”

Ms Hall said they could adopt at least some of the children, but they are familiar with the UK visa process and know it takes time – taking just over two years to get her husband to the UK.

She said: “I have reached out to my MP Grahame Morris, to ask for support with this - to see if the process could be simplified or fast-tracked for people in our situation.

“We know that time is of the essence right now. In the meantime, I ask your readers to think of the people of Afghanistan like my niece who is young, intelligent, beautiful and full of hopes and dreams that have now been crushed.”

Recalling her time in Afghanistan, Ms Hall said when she had gone to the country, she organised training sessions for Afghan teachers to help them develop their pedagogy and methodology.

She also visited them in their classrooms to conduct lesson observations and offer feedback.

“It was a really positive and exciting role - I felt like I could use my skills and experience to make a positive difference to my Afghan colleagues and their pupils.

“Because Afghanistan is a very conservative society and love marriages are not common, we had to keep this relationship a secret from everyone for our own safety. We eventually got married in India in 2012 and my husband was able to come to the UK on a spouse visa in 2014.

“We had never actually lived with each other before he arrived and the first few years were very challenging to say the least.

“My husband started off working in McDonald’s when he first arrived. After a few years, he was feeling trapped and depressed that he wasn’t fulfilling his potential. I encouraged him to contact refugee charities and offer his language skills as a volunteer.

“We were so happy and surprised when one charity responded and offered him a job as a refugee support worker.

“The job was a maternity contract initially, but the contract was extended and he has currently been seconded to the role of housing manager which is a great opportunity for him.”

Ms Hall and her husband, who is not being named to protect the safety of his family, have a six year old son.