Matt won't quit fight to come home

A DETERMINED Matt Rahmati today vowed never to quit in his battle to return to England despite being consumed with worry over the latest turn in his fortunes.

Mr Rahmati has been granted a visa to travel from Afghanistan to India in his bid to return to his wife in Ipswich but he now faces uncertainty over how he will survive in New Delhi.

Just a week before he flies out of Kabul, the Ipswich mechanic told how he faces the difficult task of finding work in India if he is to succeed in getting back to his beloved Tanya's side.

Mr Rahmati said: “I'm going to be in a strange country that I don't know at all. It's definitely going to be difficult to find a job. But I'm looking to earn whatever money I can.

“I just want to be back home.”

Mr Rahmati is due to fly to New Delhi on Tuesday where he will meet his wife Tanya, of Victoria Street, Ipswich, for the first time since his removal from the country in August.

Also there to greet him will be his mother-in-law Karen Barroso, who along with Mrs Rahmati, has been spearheading the fight to get approval for Mr Rahmati's return to the UK.

Together they will visit the UK and India visa offices in New Delhi in the hope of securing permission for him to resume his life in Ipswich.

Speaking on a mobile phone in Afghanistan, the Afghan-born 22-year-old who fled trouble in the country to start a new life in England when he was just 15 told The Evening Star that he had been consumed with worry over his future and his longing to see his wife of 10 months.

Mrs Barroso and Mrs Rahmati will spend two weeks in New Delhi before returning home. Mr Rahmati will then face a tense time in the Indian city, hoping his visa is processed quickly and hoping to find work to help him survive until it is granted.

He said: “I'm not sure how long it will take but the sooner the better for me.

“I'm getting short of money. As soon as my mother-in-law and my wife leave me I'm going to have to do something to find money.

“I've lost a lot of weight, I've been worried about what's happening.”

But he vowed to persevere until he returned to his job at H&F Autos in St Helen's Street, Ipswich, and his family in the town.

He said: “I'm not going to give up at all. I just want to be back with my family.

“I'm not going to quit, I'm going to do all I can.”

To help raise funds to pay for the fight to get Mr Rahmati back to England, an open day is being organised at H&F Autos from 2pm on October 16. Motor-related prizes will be auctioned and refreshments will be available.

N Do you know somebody who is battling against the odds? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk