Some former Afghan interpreters for the U.S. government are speaking out while they watch in fear from afar as the Taliban seizes control of their country.
Ismail Khan, a former interpreter for American troops in Afghanistan who worked with the U.S. Army as a translator from 2006 to 2012, described the situation as chaotic and dire.
“It’s a nightmare,” Khan told San Francisco ABC station KGO in an interview on Monday. “We never thought it would come to this.”
Khan, who is now the special immigrant visa ambassador for Seattle-based nationwide nonprofit No One Left Behind, said that any Afghans who have worked for or helped the U.S. government are at risk of being killed by the Taliban — and it’s not just interpreters.
“Cooks, cleaners, there are security guards, there are mechanics, there are laundry guys,” he explained. “There are a lot of people that worked with U.S. forces, and not only their lives but their family’s lives are also in danger.”
“People are going to die,” he added. “They (the Taliban) are going door-to-door to slaughter those who raised their hand and wanted to help.”
Khan believes there are more than 60,000 Afghans who need to be evacuated “right now,” but the Biden administration has only approved visas for a few thousand.
“They’re begging for help,” he said. “We should stand up and do something about it. It’s a matter of life and death.”
Another former interpreter, Muhammad, who withheld his last name for fear of retribution, said his wife and five children are still in Kabul. Muhammad worked as an interpreter for the U.S. embassy there until moving to Philadelphia in 2019. He and his family returned to Afghanistan’s capital this summer to visit relatives.
Muhammad went back to the United States last week while his family stayed behind, after receiving assurances from his contacts at the U.S. embassy that his wife and children would be safely evacuated. Now, they can’t get out.
“I cannot live without my family,” Muhammad told Philadelphia ABC station WPVI in an interview on Monday. “They are concerned, they are scared, but they have no option.”
