During the 20 years the United States waged war in Afghanistan, American troops relied on local citizens to be their eyes, ears and protectors. Translators, also known as linguists, helped them communicate, navigate the country and avoid danger.
When the U.S. quickly withdrew from the country in August, many of those Afghans who worked with the American military were left behind.
The Taliban, which now controls the government, has marked them and their families for revenge and is actively hunting them down. That’s the scenario facing Ahmad. WBUR agreed to identify Ahmad only by his nickname and not identify his family members to protect their safety.
Ahmad served as a translator for the U.S. military for three years. He immigrated to Georgia in 2015, but couldn’t bring his family with him. They’re now in hiding in Afghanistan.
“I was trying to serve my country … to bring peace in my country,” Ahmad said. “In the beginning, I didn’t know [the Taliban] were going to harm my family.”
Ahmad is not the Taliban’s only target in his family. His brother served in the Afghan army and remains trapped in Afghanistan. Taliban soldiers have beaten their other family members and kidnapped another one of their brothers.
Ahmad is trying to get them out of the country with the help of one of the American soldiers he served alongside, James Lockett. Lockett is now in his final year of law school at Suffolk University in Boston.
Lockett and Ahmad spoke with WBUR’s All Things Considered host Lisa Mullins about the terror Ahmad’s family faces each day, and the frustrations the two are confronting as they try to help them escape Afghanistan.
Highlights from this interview have been lightly edited for clarity. It includes descriptions of violence.
