Help Romal - Afghan Interpreter Left Behind

We made a promise.

 

We made a promise to the unsung heroes of the war in Afghanistan, who played an integral role in fighting against terrorism while knowingly risking the lives of themselves and their family. In the military, we must depend on our brothers, sisters, and allies in arms without question. The interpreters, our allies, faithfully risked their lives to assist our military with the promise of the opportunity to immigrate to the United States to live in security with their families. Our government has failed to uphold this promise. It is our duty to uphold this promise. It is incumbent upon us, as Americans, to correct this miscarriage of justice. The time has come for us to make good on our promises.

 

 

 

I worked alongside Romal at our base in Northern Afghanistan in 2011, but even before that he had been working alongside our forces to help the people of Afghanistan. As a 20 year old young man at the time, his country had been at war for the entirety of his conscious memory. His goals were simple, but powerful, to earn a place for his family in the United States. He is a people person, and often used his skills to de-escalate situations with local Afghanis when our cultures would inevitably clash. He was our window into a strange land and a strange culture and he did a incredible job of helping us to navigate these situations. He was our brother, as any other servicemember would be. He was one of us.

 

 

When the city of Kabul fell and the evacuation began, I was able to get in contact with Romal and worked tirelessly for weeks to get him on an evacuation flight, but in the end, we were not successful. Though there have been setbacks, we continue our efforts to effect a rescue for him and his family. Romal was forced to flee northern Afghanistan to seek shelter in Kabul as the Taliban swept the country in the summer of 2021. Due to the imminent threat of the Taliban, he has not been able to work for 6 months and has depleted his savings.

 

 

 

We are also seeking options to secure visas for Romal and his family to third countries from where he could proceed to the US for refugee processing. Understandably, these countries want assurances that any people they admit will not be begging on their streets so donations from this will go toward covering associated costs such as; commercial air tickets, food, and shelter as he makes his way to the United States. Any funds that remain after he has arrived in the United States will be used to help his family to start a new life. When they escape, they will only have the clothes on their backs and the contents within their pockets.

 

 

Some of you may have seen me on the news during the evacuation, and I thank everyone who has reached out in support of our mission. If you have any connections in the continued evacuation efforts, please reach out to me. Thank you.

 

We Made a Promise - Chicago Tribune

 

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WGN Radio - John Williams

 

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