Afghans Who Helped the US Now Fear Being Left Behind

Ayazudin Hilal worked as an interpreter alongside U.S. soldiers on hundreds of patrols and firefights in eastern Afghanistan. He earned a medal recognizing his work and an American commander also praised his efforts in a letter.

But when he asked for one of the few special visas that would permit him to go to the United States, he was told ‘no.'

Now, as American and NATO forces prepare to leave the country, he and thousands of others who worked with American troops are afraid. They fear they will be targeted by the Taliban.

"We are not safe," the 41-year-old father of six said. "The Taliban is calling us and telling us, 'Your stepbrother is leaving the country soon, and we will kill all of you guys.'"

The future of interpreters after the troop withdrawal¹ is one of the many uncertainties² surrounding the withdrawal. Will the Taliban return? Will women lose the rights they have gained? Will the country's security situation worsen and terrorist threats rise?

Interpreters and other Afghans who worked for the U.S. government or NATO can get what is known as a special immigrant visa, or SIV. The visa program was created in 2009. It is similar to a program that was created for Iraqis.

Both SIV programs have long received criticism. The paperwork is long, with security concerns slowing the process even more. The pandemic has made the whole system even more difficult.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last month that the U.S. is committed to helping³ interpreters and other Afghans who aided the war effort. Many, he said, took great risks to help the U.S. The Biden administration has launched an investigation⁴ into SIV programs. Investigators⁵ are looking at reasons for the delays, as well as possible corruption⁶ and other issues.

Former interpreters are becoming increasingly public about what they fear would happen under Taliban leaders.

"They absolutely are going to kill us," Mohammad Shoaib Walizada said after joining others in a protest in Kabul. He is a former interpreter for the U.S. Army.

At least 300 interpreters have been killed in Afghanistan since 2016. The Taliban have made it clear they will continue to be targeted, said Matt Zeller. He is a co-founder of No One Left Behind, an organization that works for the rights of those who aided the U.S. Army. He also served in the country as an Army officer.

"The Taliban considers them to be literally⁷ enemies of Islam," said Zeller, adding "There's no mercy for them."

Members of Congress and former service members have also urged the U.S. government to fix the SIV process, which now takes more than three years. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said last week that the U.S. Embassy in Kabul had increased employees to help with the visa requests.

In December, Congress added 4,000 visas. That brings the total number of Afghans who can come with their family members to 26,500. About 50 percent have been given out and 18,000 more have been requested.

Critics and those who work with refugees said the need to help Afghans could sharply increase if the country falls into chaos⁸.

As it is, several warlords that were supported by the United States and NATO threaten the country's future, along with the Taliban. Afghan security forces are weak and poorly equipped to fight both threats.

Noah Coburn is an expert on Afghanistan at Vermont's Bennington College. While praising the Biden administration's attempts to fix the visa system, he told The Associated Press he thinks the entire program needs to be rebuilt.

"If they are not willing to sort of rethink the entire thing, they are not going to actually start helping those Afghans who are most at need," Coburn said.

He estimates there could be as many as 300,000 Afghans who worked for the U.S. or NATO in some form over the last 20 years.

Recently, there have been killings⁹ of Afghan government workers, reporters and others. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for some of the deaths, while the Taliban and the Afghan government blame each other.

Former interpreters have support in Congress, in part because many also have the support of former American troops.

Walizada, for example, provided a letter of support from an Army sergeant¹⁰ who worked with him in many patrols, including one where the interpreter was wounded by Taliban gunfire.

"I cannot recall a linguist¹¹ who had a greater dedication¹² to his country or the coalition¹³ cause," the sergeant wrote.

At first, Walizada was approved for a visa. But then the U.S. Citizenship¹⁴ and Immigration Services told him it had harmful information "you may be unaware¹⁵ of," in a letter he showed the AP. His visa was denied. Walizada has appealed the decision.

Words in This Story

interpreter – n. a person who translates the words that someone is speaking into a different language

literally – adv. having the real or original meaning of a word or phrase

mercy – n. kindness that makes you forgive someone

chaos – n. a situation in which there is no order

warlord – n. the leader of a military group who is not officially recognized and who fights against other leaders, groups, or governments

linguist – n. someone who is good at learning foreign languages

dedication – n. a willingness to give a lot of time and energy to something because you believe it is important

1 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

2 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

8 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

9 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

10 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

11 linguist   

n.语言学家；精通数种外国语言者

参考例句：

• I used to be a linguist till I become a writer.过去我是个语言学家，后来成了作家。
• Professor Cui has a high reputation as a linguist.崔教授作为语言学家名声很高。

12 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

13 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

14 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

15 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。