VETERANS PLEAD FOR VISA ACTION
AN Afghan veteran feels betrayed by the Australian government, which has left his former Afghan comrades at the mercy of the Taliban.
Ex-serviceman Kris Amiet was deployed in Afghanistan in 2012 for about 11 months and advised the Afghan National Army with the help of a volunteer interpreter.
His interpreter was recently granted refugee status in Perth, but Mr Amiet said scores of others were refused entry into Australia and were trapped in Taliban territory.
Mr Amiet said his heart went out to the Afghan interpreters who literally put themselves in the firing line in order to help the Australian Army.
“They saw it as the right thing to do. When the coalition just upped and left, various countries left their interpreters behind in a very, very vulnerable place,” Mr Amiet said.
“We put them in harm’s way when we took them to work every day while they were serving with us. Now we’ve left them behind and the Taliban’s taken over.”
Since 2013 Mr Amiet and several other veterans have been lobbying the government to grant visas to the Afghan interpreters who helped them.
However, their chances have begun to look slim to nil, following the Taliban takeover and Covid-19 lockdowns.
The government has signalled its willingness to take in 4000 people to aid the repatriation effort, but Mr Amiet said it was too little, too late.
“It’s a last-ditch effort for a government trying to save a bit of face at the last minute. They’ve had a long time to get these people out, and now the doors are almost shut,” Mr Amiet said.
Mr Amiet’s former captain, Jason Scanes, started the charity Forsaken Warriors in order to help Afghan interpreters to get visas.
Mr Scanes said many Australian veterans were suffering from a profound “moral injury”, having to wrestle with feelings of guilt and shame at the way their comrades were treated.
“These are individuals who once stood by us side by side on the battlefield, and now they are waiting years for the bureaucracy to process their visas,” Mr Scanes said.
“My intent was to give them a voice in Australia, which is what they did for our soldiers: they gave us a voice over there in Afghanistan.”