Don't give up on me begs Matt

FAILED Ipswich asylum seeker Naematullah Rahmati today begged the community not to give up on him.

Known as Matt, Mr Rahmati was flown back to Kabul, in Afghanistan last Tuesday after being thrown out of Britain, despite living in Ipswich for six years and having a wife here.

Speaking from a friend's house in Afghanistan, he said he will continue to fight to get back home and is focused on getting back to his loved ones.

He said: “I do not like being here and have not liked it for one minute.

“All I want to do is come home. I have been separated from all of my loved ones and it is the hardest thing to comprehend.

“I want to ask everybody back home not to give up on me.

“Everybody from Ipswich has given me a lot of support which I am very thankful for.

“But do not think now that I have been deported that it is the end of the battle. I will carry on fighting for years if that is what it takes.”

Mr Rahmati has now found his luggage that went missing during the journey from England to Afghanistan, via Dubai.

With all of his belongings and documents inside, which he will use to try and get back to Ipswich, Mr Rahmati believed the luggage might have been stolen.

But after days of asking for it at the airport with no success, staff soon found it after he spoke to them in English to tell them what had happened.

He said: “All my life was in that suitcase and I thought it must have been stolen.

“But as soon as I started speaking English to them they informed me that it had arrived a day or two before.

“At least I have it back now.”

Mr Rahmati said his mood is one of depression and loneliness.

He feels disorganised and anxious to get himself sorted out.

He said: “I have two plans now. The first is to find my sister who is living here somewhere.

“I have not seen her for a very long time but if I can find her I can go to stay with her while I sort things out and at least I can relax a little.

“The second plan is to get to a British Embassy.

“I tried the one in Afghanistan but it is closed so I need to get a visa to travel to another country and try its embassy.”

The 21-year-old, of Victoria Street, Ipswich, says he is struggling to cope with conditions in Afghanistan.

He said: “It is very hot and dusty here. There is dust all over the place and flies everywhere. I cannot sleep at night because I am not used to this climate and that is just adding to the fact that I want to come home.”

Mr Rahmati had applied to remain in England on the basis he feared the Taliban would kill him if he returned. However the government have said they believe Afghanistan it is now safe enough for him to return as the Taliban were no longer a threat.

However a British engineer was kidnapped and killed by Taliban rebels last week. David Addison's body was discovered during an attempted rescue operation on Saturday.

Mr Addison and his local interpreter were seized by armed militants on Wednesday in an attack that left three policemen dead.

They had been in a convoy of vehicles in Farah, western Afghanistan, heading to a fortified camp with armed guards from the American company US Protection and Investigation.

N What do you think about Mr Rahmati's plight? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk