What happened to the Afghan interpreters?
What happened to the Afghan interpreters?
Since 2008, some 70,000 Afghans – interpreters and their families – have moved to the US under a special immigrant visa awarded for their service. An estimated 300 interpreters have died since 2009 while seeking a US visa – a process that can take years, even under newer refugee schemes.
How many Afghan interpreters left behind?
By law, an application is supposed to be processed within nine months; it often takes years. And now, unless Congress extends the program, it will close to applicants at the end of this year. An estimated 10,000 interpreters may be left vulnerable—a prospect that the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen.
How many translators have been evacuated from Afghanistan?
About 200 Afghan interpreters and their families have arrived in the US – the first of a group of 2,500 Afghans being evacuated as the Taliban advances. The interpreters are being resettled under a visa programme for those who worked with the US during the recently ended 20-year war with the Taliban.
Does Taliban have special forces?
The Taliban’s elite special forces units were crucial to the group’s takeover of Afghanistan, experts have told The National, and they are now seen patrolling the streets of towns and cities around the country as the group tightens its grip on power.
What is Afghanistan average income?
Taken as a whole, life expectancy for Afghans is still just 48 years, and the average annual national income per capita is about $410.
Is the US evacuating Afghan translators?
The U.S. has evacuated less than one percent of the 80,000 Afghans who’ve sought visas under a program intended to help ex-interpreters for U.S. troops. Over the past week, the Biden administration has overseen three flights of Afghan evacuees and their families to the United States, for a total of about 700 people.
Does the Taliban have a uniform?
Taliban forces don’t wear uniforms, and they don’t do photo opportunities. But after more than three weeks of bombing, many are proving to be determined fighters motivated by an often fanatical zeal to be martyred in what they consider a jihad, or holy war, against infidel invaders.
How do you say hello in Afghanistan?
A common verbal greeting is “Salam” or “Salam alaikum”, meaning “Peace be upon you”. People usually place their right hand over their heart when they speak, to show respect and sincerity in the greeting.
What is the most common occupation in Afghanistan?
Agriculture is the largest sector of employment in Afghanistan. Workers employed in the agriculture sector represent 60 percent of total employment, meaning that three out of five workers have their main source of income in farm related activities.
Who are the interpreters left behind in Afghanistan?
The fate of Afghan interpreters left behind troubles Erin Trieb, an American photojournalist, who covered American infantry units in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2011. On a trip to Kabul last year, Trieb met a man named Mashal, who had been an interpreter for nine years and was now waiting to see whether he would be approved for an SIV.
How old was Sakhidad Afghan when he started working?
Sakhidad Afghan was 19 when he started working as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, in 2009. His father was sick and he wanted to help support their extended family of 18.
How are interpreters vetted by the US military?
Former soldiers who depended on interpreters say that the military already screened these men and that they passed the most basic test—they were entrusted with the lives of U.S. troops, and at times risked their own. Moreover, the SIV vetting process is rigorous, entailing no fewer than 14 steps.