A Carlisle resident who is applying for asylum status said Afghans who intended to leave their country but have now been left behind are in a “horrible and difficult” situation.

Mina Banisaeid, who has been living in Carlisle since 2019 is currently applying for asylum seeker status on the grounds that her sexuality could put her life in danger if she was to return to her county of origin – Iran.

In Iran, the Islamic Penal Code (IPC) criminalizes same-sex sexual relations and punishments can range from lashes to the death penalty.

Mina did not realise she was gay until she moved to Carlisle and said she now fears over the prospect of potentially having to move back to Iran.

“Since I came here, I could get to know myself better. It’s like a re-birth for me,” said Mina, who is also the co-chair for Carlisle City of Sanctuary.

“In Iran, it is really frightening to be gay.

“When I came here, I didn’t know much about my sexuality. The reason I left my country was because I was a woman and I was under so much pressure as a woman.

“There is no way [I can go back to Iran].

“Even if you were to hide it from the government, you could be in danger from members of society.

“There is a chance that I could lose everything here and this is my biggest fear.

“It is affecting all aspects of my life. It’s like I’m living in limbo.”

Carlisle City of Sanctuary is a group that works to recognise and promote a culture of welcome towards refugees and asylum seekers in Carlisle.

Since US troops completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan’s capital, thousands of Afghans have reportedly been left behind.

According to PA, up to 200 Americans and thousands of Afghans have been left behind.

Also according to PA, Afghan resettlement minister, Victoria Atkins declined to give an update on the numbers of Afghans who the RAF were unable to airlift out of Kabul and UK Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, has previously estimated that up to 1,100 eligible Afghans would not be evacuated before the exit of foreign forces.

Mina said that she understands the desperation to leave a country where women’s rights are not at the forefront of the government’s priorities.

She added: “During the last 20 years, women [there] have tried so hard to get back their freedom and now they have lost everything again.

“It’s the worst [situation] especially for the kids, girls, women and the LGBT community. The Taliban has a death sentence for members of the LGBT community.

“It’s a difficult and horrible situation, and I really feel for them.

“I am so sad. This is the time when the world should help them.

“They need help. They are humans and we should see them as humans.

“If we can do something, we should do it.”

Cumbria County Council has already said that the county stands ready to accept any refugees that the Government asks it to take on.

Mina, who also works at a supermarket in Carlisle said that she hopes the county can offer a welcoming place for refugees.

She said: “Based on my own experience here, most of the people are really friendly and welcoming people.

“I think it would be great if we educated people more, and this is one of the purposes of City of Sanctuary – to make connections between the community and the refugees that come here.”

A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: “From 2017 to date under the Vulnerable Children’s and Vulnerable Person Resettlement Scheme we have resettled 244 refugees from a range of countries including Syria, Iraq and Somalia.

"We have to date resettled four families who are Afghan Ministry of Defence Translators (locally employed staff). They are resettled under the Afghanistan Relocation Assistance Policy (ARAP).

"We are awaiting detail from Government about the new resettlement programme they are developing to support refugees coming from Afghanistan now.

"As it currently stands, Cumbria has pledged to resettle 137 individuals this year, this is 16 per District (other than Carlisle which has a pledge of 57).

"The Government provides funding to support the resettlement of refugees under these schemes."