– I do not know what I can do myself, other than shout out.
– What do you want to shout?
– Give them protection, because they deserve it. I sincerely hope that someone with a conscience can hear and understand that here is a completely unfair act going on.
This is what the 30-year-old Afghan man says, who through his job as an interpreter for two years, was involved in some of the toughest battles Norwegian military units have fought in Afghanistan.
The 30-year-old now lives in Norway. But inside he is far from calm.
– I feel absolutely terrible, he says to Dagbladet.
– I’m crying blood
– Replaced by warriors
The Taliban moved into the Afghan capital on Sunday after the incumbent regime collapsed and President Ashraf Ghani announced on Facebook that he had left the country.
Taliban members have since been pictured inside the abandoned presidential palace.
– It was sad to wake up and see that the whole parliament – where we had decided the future of our country – was full of thugs with weapons. In the pictures I could not see a single politician, but only warriors without any kind of education. All they know is that they can take life, the 30-year-old claims.
For the sake of his own safety, as well as the safety of people close to him, the man does not want to appear with his name in the newspaper.
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About other pictures that have been released from the Afghan capital, and about the panic that is moving among many locals, the 30-year-old says:
– It is heartbreaking to see my people so desperate and terrified. They do not want the Taliban, but now they have no idea what kind of future they can expect.
Stateless
Monday morning, the Taliban declared that the 20-year war is over and that they have taken control of the country. The group has declared that Afghanistan will become an Islamic emirate, as was the last time the Taliban ruled from 1996 to 2001.
– It is sad and painful to think that they have changed the name. The whole West says they do not recognize Afghanistan as a state now. This actually means that all Afghans today are by definition stateless, according to the former combat interpreter.
He continues:
– It is difficult to put into words all the feelings around the fact that the Afghanistan we had dreamed of and about – with democracy and human rights – it will not happen.
Erna about Afghanistan- Absolutely awful
– Saved
As an 18-year-old, he started as an interpreter at the OMLT (Operational Mentor and Liaison Team) in Afghanistan.
He tells Dagbladet that in recent days he has had contact with other interpreters, who have had their applications for asylum rejected, and are therefore still remaining in the country.
– They describe the situation as completely chaotic, where no one has an overview of anything, and criminal bandits have the opportunity to loot and destroy. They are terrified and keep their profile as low as possible, says the 30-year-old, who believes that a person who has worked as an interpreter for foreign forces is extra threatened right now.
– The Taliban’s definition of an interpreter is that he is a spy. We interpreters have tried to create a bridge between foreign forces and the Afghan army. I think the success achieved would not have been possible without the interpreters, because we have also worked as cultural translators. There is a pretty big difference between Afghan and Western culture, and we have helped to avoid many misunderstandings, he says.
The picture goes around the world
– No one weighs out
On Monday night, the Pentagon announced that all civilian and military flights from Kabul airport had been stopped. Eyewitnesses at the scene told of a very chaotic situation at the airport in the Afghan capital.
Later that night, new information came in via the Pentagon about that the airport was reopened.
During the day, shocking photos and videos were released from the airport.
A video of an American transport plane, of the type C17A Globemaster, shows the crowds running down the airstrip while the plane takes off. A number of people also cling to both landing gear, doors and the like.
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The former combat interpreter has also seen these pictures. He says:
– That picture says so much about how desperate people are. They would rather try to hold on to a take-off plane than have the Taliban at the helm. People are terrified, but right now there are no other ways for them to get out, so this is their only chance.
The 30-year-old emphasizes that what he knows about life in Kabul now, in addition to contact with some other combat interpreters, is information he has from the news and social media.
People cling to planes
Pandemic and hunger
He further emphasizes that the Afghan people have a number of more challenges that they are facing right now.
– Just before the rise of the Taliban now, the UN went out and announced that Afghanistan will face challenges with drought. The population does not want enough to eat – they are starving. In addition, it is heading towards winter, there is a shortage of water, food and heat, and on top of it all, the country, like the rest of the world, has been hit by a pandemic, he points out.
– I get completely paralyzed and terribly sad when I think about what my country is in now, he concludes.
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