USA TODAY International Edition
REFUGEE BAN TRAPPED MY TRANSLATOR
Hunted by militias in Iraq, he was about to get his visa and immigrate to America
Iwas a U. S. Army Reserve captain in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, leading soldiers in Fallujah and later Sadr City. Our job was to work daily with Iraqi citizens to rebuild their nation, improve their lives and teach them democracy. We did this with the help of a small group of Iraqi national translators who served alongside U. S. troops in combat. For as little as $ 5 a week, and with no weapons or body armor, they served loyally as though they were U. S. soldiers.
At the end of each day these brave souls left our bases and went home — exposed to killers, with little or no protection. Two of my five primary translators were executed by militias.
After my service ended, my wife and I decided to get the surviving translators out of Iraq.
We got the first translator out in 2007. He and his wife, both Muslim, lived with my family in Dallas as they made their transition into American life. They are now proud U. S. citizens with children living their own American dream. The second translator, whom I will call “Ubaid” ( which means faithful) in order to protect him, made it to America with his wife in 2008. They are also Muslim, patriotic and productive members of our society, living in California while Ubaid teaches Arabic to U. S. servicemembers.
Ubaid told me about meeting a Texan who exemplified our American values. On their drive from Texas to California, Ubaid and his family encountered blizzard conditions in the Texas panhandle. Their small sedan got stuck in a snowbank on the side of a barely visible highway. Frightened from witnessing snowfall for the first time, they worried that they’d be stranded all night in freezing temperatures. Eventually, they saw the headlights of a large truck pulling up behind them. JOURNEY TO A DREAM A tall Texan approached their car and asked whether he could help. There was no mistaking that Ubaid and his family were of Middle Eastern descent and almost certainly Muslim. Without hesitation, the Texan used his truck to pull Ubaid’s vehicle out of the snowbank. And he and his family continued their journey toward their American dream.
We have tried for years to get one more Iraqi translator to America, a man we call “Sam.” The vetting is extensive and comprehensive; the FBI and the departments of State, Defense and Homeland Security are all involved. After years of work, in December it was clear Sam was about to get his visa and finally make it here. My family was preparing to move him into our house in Dallas; many of our friends and neighbors were planning to help him begin a new life. A 120- DAY ETERNITY Then came fear and ignorance in the form of an executive order from President Trump.
Now Sam, who only needed to pass his medical screening before receiving his visa, is banned from coming to America. Assuming the ban is “only” 120 days, an eternity to those like Sam, we do not know whether his application must start anew or will resume at the medical stage. Either way, it is too long and totally unnecessary.
Trump’s overly broad ban on immigration to the United States for citizens of primarily Muslim countries has put Sam’s life in jeopardy. Translators like Sam are hunted by militias and the Islamic State terrorist group. Denying those translators entry into America runs counter to the values we teach our citizens. It goes against the founding documents of this country, and it calls into question how we should wield our national power.
Trump’s executive order will put at risk the lives of thousands who have helped America. It will also increase the risk for our troops serving in Iraq — our ally in the war on ISIL. With this message from the president, what is the incentive for those translators ( or our Iraqi allies) to stick with us, since we are not sticking with them? Men, women and children subject to Trump’s executive order are facing slaughter from real terrorists every day. They live in danger that few Americans can understand. They are victims, not terrorists. Like Sam, they need our help.
Martin Luther King said nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Our president must stop being ignorant of what we stand for or who our enemies truly are.
It’s up to Trump to symbolize the best of what America represents, people like that Texan in the snowstorm who did not have fear or hate in his heart when he helped Ubaid and his family. In doing so, I hope the president learns just how American it will be to rescind his order.