An Interview with Lord Miles of Afghanistan
An Interview with Lord Miles of Afghanistan
After eight months in Taliban custody, Miles Routledge sits down with Foreign Perspectives to discuss his experiences and future plans.
Out of all the places to be in 2023, Afghanistan is probably not on the top of most people’s lists. And yet that’s exactly what happened to Miles Routledge, better known by his online moniker “Lord Miles,” when he was held by the Taliban for eight months.
The 24-year-old “danger tourist” from Birmingham, England has amassed a wide following online thanks to his penchant for visiting some of the most perilous and geopolitically tense locations on Earth, but he says that it’s all part of a desire to experience other cultures and escape the boredom of normal British life.
Routledge made international headlines in 2021 when he decided to travel to Afghanistan right as U.S. forces were beginning their withdrawal from the country and the Taliban were closing in. He escaped with the assistance of the British military as all hell broke lose, but it would be far from the last time he would see the country.
Since then, Routledge has made multiple visits back to Afghanistan and struck up friendships with locals on the ground and people in the Taliban government. His choice to become close with what many view to be a theocratic Islamic dictatorship has not gone without controversy, but Routledge remains undeterred in his goals of promoting cultural exchange.
Things hit a snag at the beginning of 2023 when Routledge seemingly vanished after the usually prolific social media poster stopped providing updates. It had turned out that he was once again in Afghanistan, but was being held for unknown reasons.
To provide full disclosure, I consider Miles a friend and since the beginning was kept in the loop of his situation when many presumed that he was dead. A lot of people doubted my statements that he was alive, but the truth was that only so much could be revealed publicly while he was still in Afghanistan.
Miles and the other British nationals who were held by the Taliban, however, are now out and back in their home country. Yet that isn’t the end for Miles, who tells me that he’s still set on returning to Afghanistan and continuing his plans for cultural exchange. In the time I’ve come to know him, whenever he sets on doing something, he does it.
I recently sat down with Miles to discuss his ordeal, what he intends on doing next, and more. While you may not agree with his choices to visit dangerous places or befriend Taliban members, few will doubt that he lives a life of incredible experiences and adventure unlike anyone else. The following is an unedited transcript of our correspondence.
Tell us a bit about yourself for people unfamiliar with your situation. What did you get famous for and what drew you to Afghanistan?
Where to start? Any way I introduce myself brings more questions that it answers. I guess you could say I’m the last great British explorer and for the past three years, I have been everywhere. I first became famous for being the tourist in Afghanistan days before the fall of Kabul and accidentally finding myself in the middle of it all.
Funnily enough, the only reason I picked Afghanistan was because it was the only country without a Covid-19 vaccine requirement. I wasn’t a fan of the mandate and I wasn’t permitted to get vaccinated as I had done clinical trials in the past.
As people were screaming and running around, I was befriending the Taliban and NATO special forces with a smile and my smartphone, posting everything for the world to see. Ever since then I have been to South Sudan, the frontlines of Ukraine (several times), U.S.-Mexico smuggling routes, hung out with Pakistani ISI, the first tourist to survive snake island in Brazil, and I been back to Afghanistan four times since.
On my fifth time however, I got detained for eight months by Taliban intelligence which became my most enjoyable holiday yet. Not only did I have a great time, but I made friends with the height of the Taliban gov and have been invited back. It all sounds absurd in the real world, but who wants to live there?
You were held by the Taliban for the better part of 2023. What were the circumstances around you being arrested?
At first it was for everything and nothing. I was arrested at a Western Union bank between Jalalabad and Kabul on my drive home, I had sent myself $1k in order to pay rent for the house I had and for other business expenses. Seeing as this is a large amount in Kabul, I was promptly detained for questioning by their intelligence agency GDI.
Previous to me, two other British men, who I actually knew, had been arrested [on charges] for being MI6/NATO spies so at first, they suspected the same. Why else would I travel to Afghanistan five times in two years! After weeks of questioning and good treatment, they found out I wasn’t a spy but didn’t have a permit for a mountain I had visited in Ghanzi where I hoped to open a gold mine. That I was guilty of and I admit my mistake, however, with it being a very small crime the Taliban thought it was chill.
How were you treated by your captors?
I have to say it was the best holiday I have ever had. When you hear “arrested by the Taliban for eight months” you presume the worst. You think torture, beatings, neglect and more. Completely not the case, I was treated like the Lord I am, I was treated like royalty.
My crime was small so I stayed in a guesthouse and not an actual prison. I was basically stuck in a hotel. If I needed something from movies to books or anything else (medicine, food, new clothes etc) it would be given to me and the other detainees there.
Sometimes I would have picnics with the higher ups of the Taliban government to discuss my business plans and the West. They were very interested in my opinions and wellbeing. Post-release, I’m in group chats with these people sending each other jokes, when I return to Afghanistan, I’m bringing them some gifts.
What was an average day like?
Average day was everyone waking up at 10 a.m. Electricity in Afghanistan comes on around mid-day so this was a good time to use my laptop, which I had with me, without it running out of battery. I would put on a movie or some music whilst my breakfast of Chai (green tea), eggs, pastry naan with cream and jam gets served to me with a smile. Very often I would make jokes with the Taliban in the house.
I would work on my second book, exercise with the weights in my room, go outside for vitamin D, and read a book. As I had some money with me, I sometimes gave some funds to my servants which kindly went to the market to get anything I wanted which usually involved western snacks I missed. I did all the typical things like shaving, showering and praying.
As I was Catholic, they had no problems with me not growing out my beard or doing their prayers. I was a guest in their country and they understood it. I’m a zoomer so my life has always been spent on a computer, so most of my day was just using my laptop doing small projects for my business or entertainment. Every few days around 3 p.m. I would pop down to the GDI office to meet with commanders who I loved to see, those were always the best days as I got some excellent food and consistently made good relations.
What kind of food did you eat?
Food cycled from day to day, but every meal came with chai. If I was chilling with the other detainees, I would ask for a thermos of chai and we would have several cups each a day. Sugar was readily available, but that wasn’t my thing. Often we would have naan with every meal as its holy in Islam, like how bread is mentioned in the Bible a day, and to be honest, warm Afghan naan is excellent. Staples would include rice, steamed vegetables, goat, this minty yogurt that helps with digestion and potatoes in creamy tomato sauce.
The interesting thing is that the eight or so Taliban staff would eat the exact thing we had so it didn’t feel like “prison,” we always got served the food first and they ate what was left. I think that’s very honourable. Every few days a house commander would come to assess our needs, we would get treats like ice cream or biscuits or anything we asked for within reason. The first few months I actually got a little chubby simply because the food was so good. The other downside was “lobia” which is Pashto for beans in this sauce. Nobody liked it, everyone skipped that meal, even the Taliban didn’t eat much as they had the food prepared and delivered for them.
Have you been learning Pashto?
Lik Lik Hehrma, meaning “very little.” The issue was that the Taliban in the house knew very little English so I couldn’t learn formal sentences, just some words or phrases. I have numbers, greetings, and food ordering down, but I’m not conversational. At first I didn’t bother learning as I believed I would be out any day now, but then I realised if this is going to be multiple months, then I should make the most out of my time. I’ve got around 150 words of Pashto down but now that I have internet, I’m going to become conversational within a year as I’m set on returning back to Afghanistan for business.
What media such as books, films, video games, etc. were you given access to?
The biggest problem for me was entertainment as I was spoilt in the West with fast internet and a poor attention span. I was addicted to YouTube and Netflix which I would binge daily during flights or before bed so when I was in custody with my laptop on airplane mode, I realised watching the same 2 movies would quickly get tiring.
I had deleted all my pirated content from my laptop before flying believing that some day I’ll get questioned again by my government and I didn’t want to give them any excuse to arrest me. If I’m going to go down, its not for pirated movies. Problem was that in Taliban custody, I realised I could have had thousands of movies so I was kicking myself.
Luckily, one movie from the market was 10 cents in the local currency so I would send a dude there with a memory stick and I would get five movies at a time. Sadly, the market guy’s library wasn’t extensive, but I got my fix. When I went to the GDI HQ, I downloaded books and mp3 music files. As my brain was free of distractions, I spent months reflecting on what a certain movie might be called and I got my hands on it. I saw as a game or task where I would try to get every piece of media I enjoyed in my past time back home whilst in here. Here’s a picture of what media I had:
Luckily, I had my Steam library downloaded so I constantly played Team Fortress 2 on single player which kept me entertained, I love that game. Even the Taliban started playing with me. They would watch movies and even listen to my music out of curiosity about the West. It was a great cultural exchange program. Surprisingly the Taliban really enjoyed Titanic, we watched it over eight times together. Rambo and other 80’s action movies were always a big hit too.
Did the Taliban knew you had an internet connection/contact with the outside world?
I had surprise calls, but I didn’t have internet because I totally did not end up guessing the next door’s Wi-Fi router password. *wink*
There were two other Britons arrested by the Taliban, but they were put into actual prison. Why do you think you were treated better?
I knew those two men from previously running into them in a hotel I stayed at. The unnamed British man was former SAS and former MI5 and the charity medic was a close friend of his, so they were easily convicted of being spies. They also weren’t likable, so their hostility and poor diplomacy didn’t do them any favours for a cushy stay.
They were actually convicted of being spies as they have intelligence field updates regarding ISIS-K and threats in the country, which is standard for all army people, but it really did raise some eyebrows. This was a big deal, but for me not having a permit happens all the time, so a small crime meant small problems. Every country does not take kindly to spies, most countries just execute them. So I’m grateful those men were released unharmed and only after nine months.
A lot of people have the image of Afghanistan being an authoritarian country with little freedom for its citizens. How much do you think this is true?
I agree, but nobody ever questions why it’s like that. After 40 years of war, the Taliban finally have their country back and there are external and internal threats that look to undermine them. There are genuinely Afghan CIA still around, I met them in the guesthouse. There are still ISIS-K members trying to come in through Pakistan and Iran. The nations surrounding them are all hostile and the world has cut them off. Imagine if ISIS took over Afghanistan, it would be a disaster.
The Taliban need to hold a tight grip on the nation because otherwise things would simply fall apart. People would always critique Libya before the civil war, but the harsh environment kept law and order in place just like with rulers in medieval Europe or strict emperors in China. When Libya fell, it became a place of waring factions and complete disorder. Right now the Taliban are piecing things together. I see them being very liberal compared to 20 years ago when this war began.
They went from smashing TVs to every member owning a smartphone and being on TikTok. Instead of cutting off Afghanistan and making it the next North Korea, we should give them some direction and really engage with them as it would benefit their citizens and the country in the long run. Would I like to see women’s rights? Yes, I’m a strong Catholic, but the truth is that it’s a Muslim nation and they believe the law comes from their book and that rights end there. There will never be any arguing with that.
What are some other misconceptions outsiders have about Afghanistan?
They think it’s dangerous. If I ever tell a stranger that I regularly visit Afghanistan, they start getting nervous thinking if you step out of Kabul Airport your head just explodes from a sniper rifle bullet. They believe danger is around every corner and you’re constantly in mortal peril. No.
I walk around in jeans and a T-shirt sipping a coffee in the morning and pop down to Pizza Hut, I enjoy the free Wi-Fi and talk with strangers who don’t care that I’m not Muslim. I travel to the mountains for the amazing views and go into strangers’ homes when they invite me.
The media plays up the danger because it makes them money, simple as. Millions of people live in the nation and they go about their daily lives without any danger. A foreigner can go around the country and never get threatened. In London, I’ve been threatened with knives and mugged, whilst in Afghanistan strangers hug me and the Taliban ask to pose for photos.
After everything you’ve been through, do you still plan on going back to Afghanistan?
Oh yes, the gold mine is a real business that I’ve been piecing together for two years and seeing as I’ve been invited back, I absolutely will go back to Afghanistan. In fact, I’m going back after three weeks. I promised the commander I’m friends with that I will be back in three weeks and I always keep my word.
I’ve been promised a letter of immunity from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the GDI meaning I cannot get arrested, searched, or stopped in the nation. They like me and I like Afghanistan. If I can make a few million from a gold mine, absolutely worth the risk for myself.
What message do you have for your supporters and haters?
For my haters, I just want to say I’ve done the exact opposite of what they’ve told me to do, scoffing like I’m some fool, yet I’ve become successful in every way. My business is doing absurdly well, I enjoy my life and I’m famous. If I listened to the people who harass me, I would be depressed and sitting in some poorly lit office counting down the 40 years until I can retire. For my fans, I just want to say thank you for waiting eight months for me, that I appreciate immensely.
This is fascinating. They say to “be genuine,” but this is next level. I hope that gold mine succeeds.