Photo: SAFI RAUF / HUMAN FIRST COALITION / Courtesy
Does 13 years ago an Afghan interpreter helped rescue then-Senator Joe Biden from hostile rural areas in Afghanistan.
Now, after a personal request to the President of the United States, Aman Khalili and his family managed to leave the country.
They succeeded after spending weeks in hiding, crossing the border into Pakistan as part of the exodus of Afghans who are trying to escape living under the Taliban regime.
Rescue
In 2008, Khalili I was working as an interpreter for the United States forces when Joe Biden, along with legislators Chuck Hagel and John Kerry, were visiting Afghanistan.
American politicians , who were part of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, They were traveling in two military helicopters when a snowstorm forced them to make an emergency landing in a remote, snowy valley where they were vulnerable to attack by the Taliban.
Khalili was then part of a small military unit that departed from the Bagram base to rescue the group Senators.
As reported at the time, Biden and the other senators were taken back to base and from there departed for Ankara, Turkey .
Now, 13 years later, Khalili had been asking the US government for help in getting out of the country after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August.
He finally succeeded and thus joins thousands of Afghans who have fled the country to escape living under the Taliban regime.
Veterans help
As reported by the Wall newspaper Street Journal, American veterans worked with former Afghan soldiers and Pakistani allies to carry out a clandestine operation to lead to Khalili and his family through Afghanistan and into Pakistan.
“Aman helped me and other Americans stay safe as we fought in Afghanistan, and we wanted to return the favor , ”Brian Genthe, a combat veteran and Arizona National Guard Purple Heart recipient who worked with Khalili in Afghanistan.
“He’s a blessing,” she added.
The Monday, a representative from the Department of The United States told the BBC that Khalili and his family had “left Afghanistan safely and subsequently began their journey from Pakistan “.
” They did so with broad, high-level commitment and support from the United States government, and we are grateful for the many others who also supported him along the way. ”
Special Visa
Thirteen years after his chance encounter with the future president, Khalili had been fighting for obtain your special immigrant visa (SIV) from the United States to flee Afghanistan.
Khalili failed to gain sight before the arrival of the Talibá n. And after the chaotic withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan, he called on Biden to save him, his wife and their five children.
“ I trust him ,” he told CNN. “I trust you can do everything.”
In September, when White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked, on Khalili’s situation, thanked him for “helping several of my favorite people get out of a snowstorm and for all the work they did.”
And he said that the United States was “committed” to the evacuation of its allies .
As Khalili and his family also did not have Afghan passports, they were unable to travel on the refugee flights organized by the US government.
Then a group of veterans organized a mission to transport the family by land to leave the country.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the main promoters of the mission to evacuate Khalili and his family from Afghanistan were American military veterans from Arizona who worked with the interpreter in the operation of 2008 to rescue the stranded senators.
“After 144 hours driving day and night and going through so many checkpoints, my family was so scared, but right now this is kind of of paradise, “Khalili told the Wall Street Journal.
” Hell was in Afghanistan “, he added.
At risk
The Human First Coalition, an organization that is helping rescue more than 200 Afghans who are now in Pakistan, told the BBC they were “deeply grateful” to US officials. Americans and Pakistanis for assisting “in our efforts to get President Biden’s interpreter and his family to safety.”
Khalili’s situation However, is not unique .
There are thousands of Afghans who are at risk and hiding in their country after having collaborated with foreign armies during the war and are looking for a way out.
According to help groups there are lists with more than 80, 000 names of people at risk.
The United States special immigrant visa was designed specifically for Afghans and Iraqis who worked alongside US troops in both conflicts.
It is not clear if Khalili has already obtained this visa or if he is going to travel to the United States.
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