Soldier son's Afghanistan sacrifice was 'all for nothing'

The mother of a Scottish soldier killed serving in Afghanistan says her son's sacrifice was "for nothing" as the country descends further under Taliban control.

Janette Binnie said she was now reliving the pain of losing her only son to a cause he believed in.

She said the current situation made her feel like his death did not matter.

"He went out there to make a difference," she said. "And that difference has not been made."

Aberdeen-born Sean Binnie was a 22-year-old acting sergeant when he was killed while on patrol with the Black Watch in Helmand Province in May 2009.

He was shot dead as he threw a grenade while fighting insurgents. He had been married to wife Amanda for just six months.

His mother Janette Binnie watched with dismay as the Afghan capital Kabul fell to a Taliban offensive and President Ashraf Ghani fled on Sunday.

She told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "I am so proud of him - he did what he should as a British soldier. But now it feels like his memory is damaged by this. It was all in vain.

"It feels like it was for nothing. An alternative should have been in place. They must have had intelligence - they must have known. There is no way the Taliban was ready to take over that quick - this was pre-planned. They pulled out and gave up."

The BBC understands a unit of about 100 soldiers and support arms from 3 Scots, The Black Watch are set to deploy to Kabul Airport in Afghanistan on Thursday to help in the evacuation. They will leave from their base at Fort George in Inverness.

The battalion was almost half way through a tour in Kabul when it was brought home last month as part of the NATO withdrawal.

Acting Sgt Binnie joined the Army in 2003 when he was 16. He served in Iraq, the Falklands and Northern Ireland before deployment to Afghanistan.

"He explained to me that he was training the Afghan national Army, mentoring them to make them as good as the British Army so they could control their country at some point," explained Mrs Binnnie.

"He said they were making life better for the Afghan people so that children could go to school, live a happier more free life, so the women got more independence, more education. He believed in what he was doing there.

"He served his Queen and country, he saved his men that day, he saved a woman and children and for that I am extremely proud of my son. He did what he should do as a typical British soldier.

"But now with everything gone as it is, it just feels that all the lives have been in vain. It feel like his memory has been smeared by what the government has done."

She says she understands that foreign military personnel had to leave Afghanistan at some stage but the way it happened was wrong.

She said: "At what expense do we have to do this?

"We are parents, mothers fathers siblings, uncles, aunts. We have lost the most precious thing in our life. Not just my son but my only son. and now it just feels like it was for nothing.

"I think something should have been set in place properly I don't think it should have happened like it happened."

Mrs Binnie said that nothing would affect her memories of her child, but added: "It hurts because he went out there to make a difference and that difference hasn't been made."

She added: "I have got no idea what this will do to troops that have come back from Afghanistan who are damaged beyond repair from this - this will be too much for them I think."

As those in danger from the Taliban battle to flee the country, the SNP's Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, has been calling for a summit of the four UK nations to discuss refugee resettlement.

The MP said it had to be recognised that there was a sense of urgency and this was a "humanitarian crisis".

He said: "We need to give safe passage routes to those that need help. It is important we can encourage people to come here.

"We are suggesting that we effectively bring back in what was the Syrian vulnerable resettlement scheme - that means people can come to each and every one of our local authorities in Scotland and be funded to do that and we need the four nations approach to put that in place.

"People need our support. We need to move quickly. We need to recognise this has been a failure for all of us, the collapse of the regime in Afghanistan and we are all responsible for this. And I think we are due an apology to the Afghan people that we have walked away from this.

"But that has happened. The issue now is that we protect the people as much as we can."

Two Scottish charities have vowed to continue vital work in Afghanistan as the country remains in turmoil.

Dumfriesshire-based anti-mine charity The Halo Trust says it hopes to be able to return quickly to its life saving work.

The charity was recently the target of a devastating attack by an unknown group of masked gunmen. Ten Halo staff were shot dead in their beds in June and another 14 were wounded, one of them fatally when the charity's compound in Baghlan province came under fire. The Taliban denied any involvement.

Halo says that after more than 30 years of mine clearance, it is determined to stay in Afghanistan to deliver life-saving assistance to the Afghan people.

The Western Isles-based Linda Norgrove Foundation charity was set up in memory of a Scots aid worker killed in Afghanistan and has said it intends to continue its work supporting girls' and women's education there.

Linda, 36, from Lewis, was kidnapped in September 2010 and died during a rescue attempt the following month.

Her mother Lorna Norgrove said: "It looks as though we've another uphill struggle ahead. But this is nothing compared with the struggles of women in Afghanistan and our thoughts are with them at this time."