The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has released a podcast describing the situation of young people who arrived in the UK from Afghanistan, seeking asylum as children. Because the UK government cannot send children seeking asylum back to their home countries, the Bureau reports, they provide these children with temporary leave, which expires six months before their eighteenth birthdays. The children grow up in the UK, adopting Western dress, mannerisms, and building new lives and friendships in the country. However, just as they turn 18, they are forced to return home, to a country declared "safe" by the British authorities. However, many of these young people have expressed fear of returning home, explaining that they will stand out and become victims of violence, since they have lost many of their language skills and have often lost contact with their families.
The Bureau's investigation revealed that 605 young people who arrived in the UK as asylum-seeking children have been deported to Afghanistan in the last six years, while hundreds more await their own deportations. The UNHCR and officials from the Children's Commission have condemned the practice of providing temporary residence permits, saying it is unfair and unsafe for the children.
Alongside the podcast is the article summarising the Bureau's findings, provided as the source.