In 2011, I deployed to Afghanistan after 5 months of formal language training in Washington D.C. Two weeks after arriving, I hired a young local scarf salesman to provide language lessons 3 times a week. He taught me slang so I could better communicate in remote mountainous villages and the streets of Kabul. I lost count of how many times he saved my life through warnings about districts, roads, or areas to avoid due to planned attacks or IEDs. His language lessons also proved beneficial countless times when I used the slang he taught me, to diffuse extremely dangerous and personally life-threatening situations. He is one of the reasons I did not return home in a flag-draped coffin.

Since working with me and US Forces, Hamza (name changed to protect his security) received numerous threats from the Taliban. They asked him to give them access to our military compound. When he refused, the Taliban entered his home and executed his uncle and uncle’s wife. He continued to receive threats and applied for a U.S. visa in 2017 to escape the threats to his life. The visa is still processing with the State Department and some have taken ten years for approval.

I’ve maintained contact with him and on Aug 14th, the night before Kabul fell, he called me in desperation. For the following 9 days, we remained in constant communication as he traveled to airport gates with literally thousands of other Afghans. He and his wife cleverly passed through multiple Taliban checkpoints to access the crowds at the gates. They withstood unbearable heat and chaos while maneuvering among the crowd for 15-16 hours at a time. They endured this every day for a week after approaching the airport at different hours of the day & night. They dodged and avoided the Taliban beating and whipping Afghans in the crowd. On one attempt to get inside the airport, Hamza’s wife fainted after the Taliban shot and killed 5 people in front of them. They escaped unharmed while their friends were beaten by the Taliban. A day later, Hamza’s brother was kidnapped by the Taliban for several hours and released with instructions to inform Hamza that they were coming for him. That night, Hamza and his wife fled their home minutes before the Taliban arrived - they hid outside before making their way to a relative’s home. Later that same night, I called and woke him and his wife at 2:00 AM with instructions to depart immediately. They successfully cleared the Taliban checkpoints, navigated the crowd outside the airport area, and were ultimately extracted from the crowd by a rescue team and escorted inside the airport. He and his wife displayed incredible courage by traversing the chaotic city multiple times to include the last one, when his life was in grave danger. His prior calls of despair, fear and hopelessness ended when his call inside the airport came. His relief, joy and freedom were palpable as we both cried happy tears.

Thank God, they are now safely at a U.S. military base that is NOT in Afghanistan. Hamza and his wife brought very few clothes with them when they departed in the middle of the night. The US base offered free clothes to the arriving Afghans. Hamza politely declined because “we have a few, I don’t want to take away from those that have none.” Hamza and his wife will be processed and manifested on a flight to move forward. Though he doesn’t know where he will settle, he prays for a flight to America. He prays for a chance to build a life in the Land of the Free.

He and his wife will be starting with literally nothing. If you’re able, please help answer his prayers to build a new life here - I will ensure 100% of your gracious contribution is personally delivered to Hamza and his wife.