Perspective: The Right to Go Home; on International Human Rights Day Chief Feature Writer Paul Groves Talks to an Afghan Refugee Living in Birmingham about His Dream of a Safe Return to His Country

Byline: Paul Groves

The world has suddenly started to take an interest in Afghanistan again and the suffering of its people under a fanatical regime.

It took the atrocities of September 11 to bring the country back into the world spotlight for the first time since the Russians invaded the country in the 1980s.

There have been voices trying hard to be heard in the last 20 years. The stories they were telling were harrowing, but got lost alongside the possibly more fashionable issues of the day.

For Noor Mohammed Safe the day when Afghanistan is free of all foreign influence whether that is from the USA or Uzbekistan cannot come soon enough.

Forced out of Afghanistan two years ago by a Taliban regime angered that he was trying to educate the boys and girls of his home village, the 25-year-old now devotes his time to helping his fellow countrymen and women try and settle in a new country and a new culture.

Today, on International Human Rights Day, Noor is pessimistic about the future.

``I would like to go back but I cannot see this happening for some time,'' he explained. ``I do not see the situation improving and I do not think it will be safe for me to return until we have more stability.

``The different tribes will carry on fighting among themselves. It will only settle when all the foreign interference in …

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Publication information: Article title: Perspective: The Right to Go Home; on International Human Rights Day Chief Feature Writer Paul Groves Talks to an Afghan Refugee Living in Birmingham about His Dream of a Safe Return to His Country. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Birmingham Post (England). Publication date: December 10, 2001. Page number: 11. © 2009 Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd. COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group.

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