More than a year after the United States’ chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, one Afghan interpreter says he fears death at the hands of the Taliban after his applications for a U.S. visa were denied.
Ahmad Ehsan accompanied the U.S. Army in 2018, serving as an interpreter and cultural advisor in Kabul, Afghanistan, until January 2021. The Epoch Times is using a pseudonym to protect his safety.
Mr. Ehsan is one of an estimated 62,000 Afghan interpreters and others who, by the end of 2021, had worked alongside U.S. forces in America’s longest war with the hope of evacuating the war-torn country.
Hiding from the Taliban, Mr. Ehsan told The Epoch Times in October, “After August 2021, while our government collapsed and the U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan and Taliban took back to power, I actually lost everything—my reputation, my freedom, my future, my achievements, and my hope.”
Even so, he said, “I have no regrets for working with the U.S. Army in their fight against the Taliban.”
“I was fighting for my democratic Afghanistan,” he added. “I fought for my country’s freedom.”
Mr. Ehsan applied for SIV status in January 2020 for the first time. On March 1, 2021, he received a letter of denial with little explanation of unfavorable service. With encouragement and support from an immediate supervisor, Mr. Ehsan appealed the decision, which was subsequently denied eight months later.
In January, Mr. Ehsan applied for SIV status for a second time. In July, he received another denial letter.
After these two unsuccessful attempts, Mr. Ehsan finally admitted their decision is attributed to a failed polygraph test, as he was no longer allowed to serve as an interpreter. It was a test he had successfully passed every six months for the previous three years, but this one was different.
Placed in a Peculiar Situation
Mr. Ehsan was employed by Mission Essential Company (MEC), a government contractor, which visited Afghanistan at the end of 2020, he said. At the time, he was only cleared to move about the Kabul base with “a red badge” in the presence of an escort.On their visit, Mr. Ehsan said, “they made an appointment for me to receive my yellow badge,” which would have allowed him to move more freely without an escort. “A young guy from the counterintelligence team who I had never met before asked if I were trying to hide something, because I looked nervous,” he said. “I had nothing to hide and did nothing wrong,” he explained.
With that, he was subjected to a polygraph machine test. “Even though I know I was telling the truth, I was terminated from my job,” he said. “I would have accepted any other punishment, because I knew there must have been another reason why the machine failed me.”
Mr. Ehsan explained the reason, disclosing that he had returned from a patrol only one hour before the polygraph test was administered. “I was still nervous from the mission,” he told MEC, “but they didn’t listen to me.” He explained, “Whenever we drove outside the base and went to mission, everyone had fear and stress.”
On multiple occasions, Mr. Ehsan and his team had made contact with the Taliban on previous missions. Taliban suicide attacks, like the one that occurred after his termination in Kabul Aug. 31, 2021, were his biggest fear, he said. “I have seen so many Taliban suicide attacks inside of Kabul,” he said.
Put at a Disadvantage
The Epoch Times reached out to several combat veterans who all agreed that Mr. Ehsan’s fear was legitimate and he was very unlikely to be fit for a polygraph. One such veteran included former Staff Sgt. Dan Blakeley, who served with the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, for three tours in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2011.“Was one hour enough for [Mr. Ehsan] to prepare his mind for taking a polygraph test?” Staff Sgt. Blakeley questioned. “Not even close,” he said. “In a time of war, your nerves are shot, as you’re constantly going out on patrols and going out to an objective.”
“There’s no way that you can be at a steady state capable of answering questions or going through a polygraph or whatever the case may be and think that that you’re going to have some clear mind to be able to answer those questions,” he said. “There’s just no way.”
In the denial letters reviewed by The Epoch Times, there is no mention of a failed polygraph. Instead, the document lists two reasons for Mr. Ehsan’s SIV disapproval: “derogatory information associated with case” and “lack of faithful and valuable service.”
The Epoch Times has been unsuccessful in reaching out to the State Department concerning the “derogatory information” associated with Mr. Ehsan’s case. In documents reviewed by The Epoch Times, the negative claim about his service contradicts multiple letters of support from a commanding officer and others.
In one letter, a direct supervisor said, “[Mr. Ehsan] has provided faithful and valuable service to the U.S. Government.” He also commended his “outstanding work ethic” and “unquestionable integrity,” as well as his “unwavering courage, selflessness and dedication while supporting U.S. Government and coalition Forces.”
A letter of recommendation from his battalion commander further reiterated, “[Mr. Ehsan] provided faith and valuable services.” Having worked “closely with [Mr. Ehsan],” he said that “his strong, humorous, and independent demeanor proved to be cherished among the team.”
He also recognized “his significant loyalty and protective nature, when he identified a threat posed by an unknown Afghan soldier.” His quick action alerted the team to the person making the threat, he said. And according to him, “[Mr. Ehsan] has served in good standing regarding his working performance.”
Seeking Help
Mr. Ehsan said he is growing tired and increasingly fearful that he will not be saved from death. “I have no more people to help me or support me with my case,” he said. “There seems to be no hope anymore for me and I currently don’t have any plan to apply again for SIV.”“After running out of money, a U.S. safe house in Kabul was no longer available for so many Afghan families,” Mr. Ehsan said. “I was once comfortable and had a warm place to stay, but today, I’m hiding in a very old, muddy house.” With winter approaching, he is concerned about his health as temperatures grow colder. “I’m running out of money to acquire wood and food for myself,” he said.
“If the Taliban finds me, there is no forgiveness for those who worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army,” he said. “If they find interpreters like me, they’ll first torture us, and then they’ll kill us and behead us.”
“I’m asking kindly from great American people and the U.S. government to keep their promise to save their allies’ lives,” he said. “I am asking the Department of State to please evacuate any combat linguist who was wrongfully terminated from their job and had their SIV case also denied.”
“If not, the Taliban will kill us,” Mr. Ehsan reemphasized. “So, I am asking for the American people to hear our voices. We are in danger.”
