Afghanistan: ex-interpreters of foreign armies plunged into concern
Audio 02:31
An Afghan interpreter (r.) During an interview between American soldiers and an Afghan in 2009 (Illustrative image).
© Kevin Frayer / AP
By: Sonia Ghezali Follow
6 mins
In Afghanistan, while the foreign forces continue their total withdrawal which must be completed at the end of August, the former interpreters of the various armies of the coalition are plunged in the concern.
They are considered traitors by the Taliban.
They assure them that no harm will be done to them if they repent.
Promises that no one believes, starting with the former interpreters and employees of the US military. There are hundreds of former interpreters and auxiliaries of the foreign forces.
Among them, a hundred who worked for the French army in Afghanistan and whose visa applications have been rejected in previous years.
Hundreds more worked for the US military.
Publicity
The sun rises over Kabul, it is almost 6 am when we find Shafi in the suburbs of the Afghan capital.
He is leaning over his brother's grave.
Artificial flowers adorn the tombstone with the name of Sohail Pardis engraved on it.
“I come here every Friday. "
When we meet Shafi, it has been a month since his brother was murdered.
“When I come here, I feel lonely. I haven't had anyone since he left. Here I am talking to him. "
Sohail Pardis was a former US military interpreter based in Kandahar, the southern province where the Taliban movement was born.
Sohail Pardis had his throat cut last May on a road connecting Kabul to the east of the country.
A few weeks ago, it was with a photo of his lifeless body with a lacerated throat that more than a hundred former foreign arms interpreters demonstrated in Kabul despite the risk of being targeted.
Abdul Haq Ayubi, a friend of Sohail, present, shows us several photos of them arm in arm with American soldiers.
“We applied for a visa to the United States together in 2015, but they were turned down because we were made redundant. If we hadn't been fired we would be safe in the United States. I will not have lost Sohail Pardis. I lost it because of this dismissal. "
Recently the Taliban said they would not attack ex-interpreters of foreign armies if they apologize.
For Mahmoodi, one of the organizers of the rally, this is unthinkable.
“I'm not going to ask forgiveness from the Taliban because they are still my enemies. They are the enemies of the people. They are the enemies of women, girls, everyone. You know, if the Taliban come back, they won't let you be here. They won't let the girls go to school. There will be no democracy. There will be no freedom. "
That day, during their rally, interpreters get up to send a message to Joe Biden, the US president.
“Don't let us down!
»Chant the demonstrators for the attention of the American president.
He pledged to get the ex-interpreters of the American army out of the country.
To date, none of those we interviewed have received a positive response to their visa application.
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Afghanistan