To: John Kerry, Secretary of State
Break the Logjam: Bring Afghan Linguist Abdul M. safely to the US now.
As the Taliban incursion moves in, Abdul M. is trapped, harassed, hunted, and if captured, will surely be tortured and die. He is struggling to survive and save his family..
Why is this important?
Abdul worked as a linguist for a friend of mine during the war. He is trapped because the war in Afghanistan has not ended. Especially for people like Abdul M., employed for six years by the U.S. as a linguist to translate and as interpreter between Afghan citizens and our military forces. After a rigorous screening process, the linguists were placed in positions where they honorably gained the trust of their American comrades and served with distinction.
As the Taliban incursion moves in, Abdul M. is trapped, harassed, hunted, and if captured, will surely be tortured and die. He is struggling to survive and save his family.
He would need enormous sums of money to smuggle himself and his family out to countries where borders are shutting down daily for desperate refugees such as Abdul and his family.
Abdul M. is caught in a legal and bureaucratic nightmare called “administrative processing.” He applied for a Special Immigration Visa (SIV) three years ago. Afghans who worked on behalf of the U.S. Government, who helped U.S. Forces were promised SIVs. Section 602(b) of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009, authorizes the issuance of SIVs to Afghan nationals who were employed in Afghanistan by the U.S. government. Why is it taking so long to complete Linguist Abdul M’s application?
Enough waiting. Our government’s bureaucracy can no longer be an excuse for letting those who helped us get slaughtered. Our linguist Abdul M. needs our protection. Enough procrastination. Abdul M’s application needs to be expedited now. He and his family should be brought safely to the US now.
As the Taliban incursion moves in, Abdul M. is trapped, harassed, hunted, and if captured, will surely be tortured and die. He is struggling to survive and save his family.
He would need enormous sums of money to smuggle himself and his family out to countries where borders are shutting down daily for desperate refugees such as Abdul and his family.
Abdul M. is caught in a legal and bureaucratic nightmare called “administrative processing.” He applied for a Special Immigration Visa (SIV) three years ago. Afghans who worked on behalf of the U.S. Government, who helped U.S. Forces were promised SIVs. Section 602(b) of the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009, authorizes the issuance of SIVs to Afghan nationals who were employed in Afghanistan by the U.S. government. Why is it taking so long to complete Linguist Abdul M’s application?
Enough waiting. Our government’s bureaucracy can no longer be an excuse for letting those who helped us get slaughtered. Our linguist Abdul M. needs our protection. Enough procrastination. Abdul M’s application needs to be expedited now. He and his family should be brought safely to the US now.