Afghans who worked as interpreters for the U.S. military protested the difficulties they face in leaving.
Say red tape keeps them from leaving Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan — A small group of Afghans who worked as interpreters for the U.S. military rallied on Friday near the American Embassy in Kabul, protesting the red tape that stands in the way of their leaving Afghanistan.
The protest comes amid a push to get Afghan interpreters and others who helped the U.S. out of the country as American and NATO troops complete their pullout. The protesters in Kabul said they are victims of a bureaucratic nightmare as they try to escape abroad.
Many — even those who have not been directly threatened — say they fear for their lives, despite assurances from the Taliban they would not be targeted.
The former interpreters said the situation is increasingly urgent. Many had their special immigration visas approved, only to see them later denied, allegedly because of minor discrepancies in their statements from one interview to another. Others had been denied outright or were approved but were still waiting for the visas.
One of the men, Omid Mahmoodi, said he was not moved by President Joe Biden’s promise on Thursday that Afghans who had helped the U.S. military during the last nearly 20 years would not be left behind.
“We think he is lying,” said Mahmoodi, who worked as a translator in 2018 . “Time is running out.”
Lately, it’s become evident that the deadline for the last of the 2,5003,5000 U.S. troops and 7,000 allied
NATO soldiers to leave Afghanistan has been accelerated. Biden had said the last of the troops would be home no later than Sept. 11 but it has become increasingly clear that th e last soldiers would be gone from Afghanistan as early as next month.
Hezat Shah, who said he worked as an interpreter in southern Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold, said he risked his life each time he stepped into an armored vehicle with the Americans.
He said he does not trust a Taliban statement from last month that they would not seek revenge against those who worked with the Americans or helped Western interests.
Biden faces strong criticism from some Republicans for pulling out of Afghanistan, even though President Donald Trump made the 2020 deal with the Taliban to withdraw all U.S. forces by May 2021.