I WORKED as an interpreter for the British Army in Basra from 2003 until January this year when I was forced to flee to Syria after receiving death threats and seeing scores of my former Iraqi colleagues kidnapped, tortured and killed.

We are targeted precisely because we have served the British authorities and because we hoped to help the British build a better Iraq. But now those hopes lie in ruins through no fault of ours.

Since I arrived in Damascus I, along with several other former employees of the British in Iraq, have been trying to get help from the British consular authorities here. But the guards at the British Embassy have been instructed not to let any Iraqis enter the gates. We have been unable to get interviews to present our cases and to request assistance or asylum.

The Syrian authorities allow us to stay for the time being. But we are unable to work and money is short. Several others in my situation have been forced to return to Iraq because they have run out of money. I will soon have to return unless I get help. But I know that back in Iraq my chances of survival are small. Is this how we are repaid for our services to the British government?

Loay Mohammed, Damascus

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