An Afghan man who worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Special Forces for five years, talked with CNN’s Kate Bolduan about how scared he ...
An Afghan man who worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Special Forces for five years, talked with CNN’s Kate Bolduan about how scared he and his family were about being killed by the Taliban, begging President Joe Biden for help getting to the airport and safely out of Afghanistan in an emotional interview Thursday evening.
The man was identified only as “Abdul” and spoke by phone to help protect his identity. Bolduan played an audio recording Abdul had given to a human rights attorney before beginning the interview:
Why are the American soldiers forgetting about us after everything we did, the sacrifices we made? Why are they leaving us behind? I don’t want to be killed by the Taliban. They are going to cut our heads off if they find my location. Please help.
“Abdul, you said that you and your family need to get out of the country immediately,” said Bolduan. “Have you been threatened by the Taliban?”
Abdul confirmed that he had been threatened, in fact, earlier that very day. He described how he had gone to a shop to get supplies for his family and saw two or three Taliban members, who started following him. He ran for a long time and was eventually able to escape them, but the incident clearly shook him.
“I don’t know how long more should I handle this,” he said. “I have a wife and two young kids. We will all be killed if the Taliban find us.”
He hadn’t been able to sleep for a week, Abdul said, guarding his family.
“We live in fear every day,” he continued. Once the Americans left, their lives were “over.” The Americans “have signed our death sentence.”
“At this point, do you think it’s now a matter of days before something tragic happens to you and your family?” asked Bolduan.
“It is not just a matter of days, it is a matter of seconds, you know, minutes, hours,” he replied. “Anything can happen to me.”
Abdul told Bolduan that he had not yet heard anything from U.S. officials about how he might be able to get out of Afghanistan.
She asked him if he had attempted to get to the Kabul airport yet.
“I tried many times, but everybody is shooting at us,” he said. “I need something, you know, to happen soon. I need somebody to take action soon, you know, to get me out of here.”
“If you could get a message to President Biden tonight, what is your message to him?” asked Bolduan.
“I’m asking him, to the U.S. government, to please save me and my family, and the Afghan interpreters who worked for your country,” said Abdul, breaking down in tears. “Are you going to leave us here to die? Please, I am begging you. I am begging him, I’m begging America, please help us.”
No comments