Refugee Answers 'I Don't Know' Over 150 Times, Still Granted Asylum by Judge Who Found Him 'Credible'
If you ever wonder why people are fed up with the asylum system in the West, you need look no further than the case of I Don’t Know.
I’m calling the Afghan refugee that because, first, I don’t know what his name is. In fact, to hear him tell it, he might not even know. Second, I’m calling him that because that’s the answer he gave over 150 times during his asylum hearing with the U.K. Home Office.
And, according to a report from the U.K. Telegraph last week, the man was granted refugee status by a judge who found him “credible,” meaning he has asylum in Britain until 2029.
In addition to the 158 times the man said he didn’t know the answer to basic questions posed by the Home Office, he also said “I can’t remember” a further 49 times. (Shame he didn’t make it an even 50, really.)
Perhaps most importantly, the man in question doesn’t seem to know his own age.
“The Afghan said upon his arrival in 2022 that he was born in 2007, but the Home Office assessed him as being born on 31 January 2005, and therefore 17 at the time. The upper tribunal ruled that the migrant was telling the truth and he was 15 at the time of his arrival, and is 18 now,” The Telegraph reported.
The man did seem to remember his journey to the United Kingdom, and the fact that he, according to The Telegraph, “suffered frequent and major seizures” during the trip.
After he arrived in 2022, he was put in a hotel for asylum-seeking children, then an adult hotel, then, after a period of homelessness, a foster home via a charity.
After he was granted asylum in 2024, the National Age Assessment Board ruled that he was most likely 19.
“His lack of memory during the age assessment interviews led the assessors to conclude that he was deliberately withholding information,” the board found.
The board found that the initial date of birth he gave, which would make him 20 as of now, was likely accurate, and that he was “not able to give a credible reason” why it wasn’t correct.
After an appeal, upper tribunal judge Leonie Hirst found in his favor.
“The most obvious inconsistency in [the Afghan’s] evidence is that although he claimed not to know his date of birth, he was recorded as providing a specific date of birth on arrival to the U.K.,” Hirst wrote in the decision.
“His explanation in his witness statements was that he was advised by other migrants with whom he was travelling that he had to give a date of birth in order to apply for asylum. On balance, and considering the evidence as a whole, I accept his written evidence,” he added.
“He has given a relatively consistent account of his background in Afghanistan and I note that the assessors accepted that his lack of knowledge of birth dates was consistent with anecdotal evidence about Afghan cultural norms,” Hirst continued.
“I find it credible that he does not know his exact date of birth and did not know his age when he left Afghanistan. I accept his evidence that when he was moved to adult accommodation in early 2023 and realised that his age was significant, he asked his uncle about his age and was told that he was then 16. I also accept his evidence that his mother told him in early 2024 that he was about to turn 17.”
Apparently, it’s a cultural norm not to know a thing about yourself when presenting yourself to a country that is now, thanks to a judge’s ruling, obligated to give him asylum. I’d also note that I Don’t Know’s memory seems to be conveniently specific in areas that give him a better chance of getting residency. It’s a miracle!
I’m guessing I Don’t Know probably doesn’t… well, you can fill in the blanks.
This would be borderline farcical when it comes to the credulousness of the system if it didn’t have such serious consequences, especially in Britain. The Telegraph’s report came days after two Afghan minors who had been granted asylum were sentenced to jail for raping a 15-year-girl in Warwickshire back in May. The judge made an unusual move and granted the media’s request to know the background of the two men, Jan Jahanzeb and Israr Niazal — both 17 and both living in taxpayer-subsidized housing.
That’s appalling enough, but more appalling is the fact that Niazal’s lawyer said he waited until one day before he turned 17 to plead guilty because it would allow him to stay and “make a life for himself in this country” after he serves his sentence.
The point is, it’s plenty risible if a generic asylum-seeker were to answer “I don’t know” so often during his interview that a writer like myself could plausibly use that phrase as a moniker for him. Far less hilarious is when this kind of behavior is passable to a judge in a country with a serious refugee problem and a populace that has had it with unvetted minors who become violent offenders. Enough is enough.
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