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Denmark paying UK to take its Afghan interpreters
Christian Wenande
September 9th, 2021
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This article is more than 2 years old.
Meanwhile, the government is continuing its evacuation process – now via land routes
Up until just recently, Denmark paid a secret sum of money to the UK to accept 23 interpreters who helped the Danish forces in Afghanistan.
According to information that Berlingske newspaper has come into possession of – info confirmed by the Defence Ministry – the ordeal involves 12 interpreters who had initially been denied an entry visa to Denmark and 11 who desired to go to the UK.
READ ALSO: Time to step up: Will Denmark take a positive stance on Afghan refugees?
Paid by DK and UK
Up until June, just five Afghan interpreters had been granted asylum in Denmark out of 139 applicants.
According to Berlingske, the fee paid to the UK was based on calculations relating to how much it would cost the UK to evaluate their documents, integrate them and the sum of five years of social benefits.
The interpreters were employed by the UK in Afghanistan, but had also assisted and been paid by the Danish forces.
All in all, 195 interpreters assisted the Danish forces during the war in Afghanistan.
Read more about the interpreters here (in Danish) on the Defence Ministry website.
READ ALSO: Denmark is first to finance UN humanitarian air bridge to Afghanistan
Evacuated by land
In related news, it has emerged that Denmark is continuing its Afghanistan evacuation – now by land.
The foreign minister, Jeppe Kofod, revealed in a Twitter post on September 7 that 20 people on the so-called ‘Danish list’ have been helped out of the war-torn country so far via road.
On August 31, the Foreign Ministry announced that 88 individuals with a Danish connection were still in Afghanistan – 47 of whom were on the ‘Danish list’. That last figure has now dropped to 38.
“They are being housed in a secure area and will be transported on to Denmark. The work continues,” wrote Kofod.
Kofod informed the public that the group of 20 were made up of 11 who were former interpreters and local workers at the Danish embassy and their family members, while the other nine were from the ‘Danish list’.
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