Main fundraiser photo

Operation HOME

I, former Sergeant Landert, am a US Army Veteran that served 2 tours in Afghanistan. On my first deployment in 2012 I formed a lifelong friendship with one of my interpreters, Zamir “Reggie” Fazli. Reggie put his life on the line to serve our unit as interpreter for the Command Group, most notably in a suicide bombing in late 2012 that took the lives of CSM (Command Sgt. Maj.) Kevin J. GriffinMaj. Thomas E. Kennedy, Air Force Maj. Walter D. Gray, and American interpreter Regaei Abdelfattah and wounded others notably Medal of Honor recipient, CPT (Captain) Groberg. Reggie demonstrated great loyalty to the US by pushing through his own injuries to assist the Personal Security Detachment in establishing security positions while the killed and injured soldiers were evacuated to safety. This is a prime example of the danger that he and his fellow interpreters have exposed themselves to by assisting US forces in Afghanistan and they continue to face until they can be evacuated.
 
Fortunately, US forces have been able to get Reggie, along with his wife and children, out of Afghanistan and into a refugee camp in Northern Virginia (where the above picture was taken). However, much of his extended family, including his parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, in-laws, and cousins are still trapped in Afghanistan. Many in Reggie’s family supported US efforts in Afghanistan as World Bank monitors, security guards, Afghan National Army officers, and his brother and step-brother served as interpreters for the US military, as well.
 
For their efforts Reggie’s family are now being targeted by the Taliban, with numerous family members receiving death threats. Reggie’s father-in-law, NDS (National Directorate of Security) Chief Sayed Rahman, has already been murdered by the Taliban. The family has gone into hiding fearing for their lives until they can be evacuated.
 
We have a plan to get Reggie’s family out of Afghanistan, and then safely into the US. We have the fantastic attorneys at Khazaeli Wyrsch standing by (and the firm has incredibly agreed to waive their fees). Still the application fees for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are almost $20,000 for the nearly 40 family members that remain displaced.
 
That is why Reggie and I are pleading for your support for $20,000 to help get his family to safety. All funds raised will go to Khazaeli Wyrsch to first cover application fees for Reggie's family and any additional amounts we raise will go to help defray the filing fees for other interpreter families that Khazaeli Wyrsch are working with. Thank you for all of your support.
 
*See Zamir's recent interviews with NPR and MSNBC.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Organizer

Angel Landert
Organizer
Colorado Springs, CO

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