'If I stayed in Afghanistan, I would have been killed'

Ismail, Zulikha and their three children have settled in Shropshire

A year on from the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan, a family of refugees have shared their experience of settling in Shropshire.

Ismail and Zulikha continue to live in a single room with their three children but are relieved to live in safety.

"If I stayed in Afghanistan, they [would have] killed me," Ismail said.

The couple's priority is their children's education, something which would have been forbidden in Afghanistan for their daughter.

In March, schools there reopened for a new academic year. But the Taliban reversed an earlier promise and girls are currently not permitted to attend secondary school.

Ismail said his children's education was his priority

"For the future I just need to be safe and for my children to go to school," Ismail said.

He added his 12-year-old was "happy at school" after she started last September, and teachers loved her and his nine-year-old son.

He said: "We're excited here because our kids are going to school, our daughter is going to school, and she's safe.

"Everything is very bad in Afghanistan. [The Taliban] have destroyed all the systems [there]."

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Zulikha, who is pregnant with their fourth child, was among those caught up in the chaotic scenes at Kabul airport as she fled the country with the children.

"When she left, she did not say goodbye to her mother or sister," Ismail said. "She was very upset."

Ismail fled to Canada in 2018 and had not seen his family before they were reunited in the UK last year.

He said living in one room was "very difficult" for the family.

"It's a small room for all five of us," Ismail said, but he added they were excited about their new life.

"For the future, we hope for peace for all Afghanistan."