Afghan interpreter seeks Manitoba soldier's help fleeing Taliban-controlled country
Interpreters who helped Western forces topple the Taliban want out now that the group has regained control of Afghanistan.
Some are turning directly to the soldiers they worked with for help. But guiding them to safety from abroad is proving difficult amid a chaotic and uncertain situation.
“The soldiers are being contacted and asked for help,” said Mike Lagace, a retired Canadian Armed Forces public affairs officer and father of a current member who served in Afghanistan.
Lagace’s son is now trying to help an interpreter he worked with and befriended leave the country.
“He’s only hoping that if he shows up in Kabul, if he shows up on the tarmac that they’re very aware of who he is,” Lagace said.
The man contacted Lagace’s son looking for assistance getting out of Afghanistan with his wife and children.
The interpreter told CTV News he wanted to stay to make Afghanistan a better place but now that the Taliban has taken control, he fears for his life and his family’s safety.
It’s a concern echoed by another former Afghan interpreter already living in Canada.
“Right now they are in a very strange and dangerous situation,” said Ajmal Sarwari, who worked as an interpreter at Kandahar Airfield from 2006 to 2012 before leaving Afghanistan for Canada.
Sarwari knows of interpreters who’ve travelled from Kandahar to Kabul to try and get on a flight to Canada.
He said many are worried if they’re identified by the Taliban before leaving, they could face retribution for helping Western forces.
“They are living in hotels and hiding in Kabul waiting for their evacuation but unfortunately the evacuation process is very slow and they are getting their emailed response in days,” Sarwari said. “I hope that evacuation process does speed up.”
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan tweeted Monday a Royal Canadian Air Force flight left Kabul yesterday carrying 436 Canadians and Afghan nationals now on their way to Canada.
Sajjan said Canadian Armed Forces personnel on the ground in Kabul have the power to make operational decisions in the interest of saving lives.
Lagace said Canadian soldiers developed lifelong bonds with Afghan interpreters and want to help any way they can but aren’t sure where to turn.
“I mean it just came out of the blue,” Lagace said. “He got called, basically texted, about four in the morning.”
“We as Canadians are very lucky we don’t have to go through that, however, in this case here it’s life and death for these folks and they’re just truly trying to make their lives better.”
The interpreter who contacted Lagace’s son said his children are no longer going to school. The man said there are many Taliban checkpoints set up where he lives and he worries about leaving the house, making the prospect of getting to the airport daunting and potentially dangerous.
Canadian officials said Monday the military’s special forces are operating outside the confines of the Kabul airport to get people on flights.
Officials would not provide more details, but they said they are having success getting Afghans to safety.
-with files from the Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.