Dijilane
© Bradley PageFazel Dijilane, interpreter for 3rd battalion Yorkshire Regiment and the Royal Marines
An interpreter injured by a bomb while working for the UK Army in Afghanistan is now sleeping rough in the Calais Jungle. Fazel Dijilane, 23, spent eight months translating for soldiers on patrol, risking his life every day. But he says he was 'abandoned' when our troops pulled out and was forced to flee after the Taliban accused him of being a spy.

He spent more than two years travelling across Europe to try to reach the UK, where he hoped to claim asylum. But instead he is now destitute, living in a tent in Calais alongside hundreds of other migrants. His injuries mean he is in constant pain, which is worsened by cold weather.

Mr Dijilane said: 'I am at the front door of the UK now. But it seems they don't care about the interpreters.' He said he wanted to help British troops because they had 'left everything to fight for peace for us'. But his cousin, a member of the Taliban, was killed and his family suspected Mr Dijilane of informing because of his work.

He said he was waiting for the UK Government's Labour Support Unit (LSU) in Afghanistan to consider his application to be relocated to the UK when he was threatened by the Taliban and had to flee. He said: 'I lost everything: my mother, my sisters, my health, my country. I know many interpreters the Taliban have already killed. So I had to leave. Now, I am just asking for help.'

Mr Dijilane, from Logar Province, started working for the Army in January 2012 as an interpreter for the 3rd battalion Yorkshire Regiment and the Royal Marines. His father died of cancer 18 years ago, so he was the main breadwinner for his mother and six sisters. During one patrol, a remote-controlled IED went off and he was thrown backwards. He was taken to hospital and diagnosed with suspected nerve damage down one side of his body. He said he was told he did not have to keep working after he was injured, but he chose to carry on to help fight for peace, and also to support his family.

In 2013, he was told his base was closing as British troops prepared to withdraw from Afghanistan. He said they told him to go to Kabul to apply to the LSU, which offers support and sometimes relocation to the UK for staff who are being intimidated.

But he was threatened before he got an answer. Mr Dijilane said: 'They told me that after five days they would interview me but after five days I was still waiting and they said the programme has not started yet. Then they said maybe 2014, maybe 2015, but I could not wait that long, it was my life at risk.

'I told them I could not go home, because everybody knew I worked for the British. When I was at home, I was frightened, I could not sleep. It is 90 per cent Taliban, my uncles, my cousins - all Taliban. 'I received a lot of calls. They told me to go somewhere and lie low - or in a few days your life is finished. That is why I decided I should leave.'

He fled in the middle of the night in April 2013 and travelled through ten countries, arriving in Calais five months ago. He has tried several times to jump on a UK-bound lorry, but finds it too difficult because of his injuries. Mr Dijilane said he wants to come to the UK to finish his business studies. His appraisal papers from the Army say he was 'one of the most effective and experienced' translators at the base and that they 'fully trust him'.