Sep 09, 2010 us troops rely on local afghan interpreters in the mission to win hearts and minds in the afghanistan war. Matthew ball relied heavily on his afghan interpreter during a yearlong mission in one of afghanistans. The us operates a specific visa program for afghan nationals who serve as interpreters who want to relocate to the us and there is a similar program for interpreters in iraq. Young guys no older than twenty risking their lives to help. The program was created through legislation in 2009 the afghan allies protection act, but thousands of interpreters like janis are still waiting for their visas. He has written two books on military contractors iraq, inc. Amazing that in this day and age of global, cultural and linguistic awareness, that a company would be willing to send unqualified linguist into a battle zone, but that is exactly what is being alleged. From 16thcentury mughal rulers, to daring victorian spies and todays taliban, the travel writer and historian picks his favourites from a rich. Ahmadi, a 23yearold afghan who had immigrated to the united states. Farukhi was one of 24 mep translators killed and 56 injured since the companys contract with the u.
Dec 17, 2009 interviews with a dozen former mep interpreters and their families show that yewazis tale is not unusual. There are times that you push yourself to finish a book, but there are books. Former interpreter for the times is killed in afghanistan. The violence at nunez came as mep was struggling to control its workforce in afghanistan, according to confidential government reports written in 2009 and 2010 by u. Us military blacklisted afghan translators, interpreters in afghanistan, kabul, afghanistan. Stories of interpreters who served the us military, as told to vice news. American army still lacks enough skilled translators in afghanistan. Hearing on interpreters in conflict zones in the european parliament. This novel is the story of an afghan national working for the us army as an interpreter. In july 2008, an mep site manager fired him for starting a fight with another linguist, according to a company statement released to corpwatch.
An afghan national challenging the governments treatment of fellow interpreters who worked for. There are 3 interpreter job openings in afghanistan. In afghanistan, if you worked for any coalition countries including the british, your neighbours will know, bbc defence correspondent jonathan beale added. Afghan interpreters scheme utter failure, say mps bbc news. Families of dead us soldiers sue over afghan interpreters. William dalrymples top 10 books on afghanistan the guardian. Afghan interpreter identifies colleagues in beheading footage.
May 26, 2018 in afghanistan, if you worked for any coalition countries including the british, your neighbours will know, bbc defence correspondent jonathan beale added. Search interpreter jobs in afghanistan with glassdoor. The government has dismally failed to protect afghans who worked as interpreters for the british army and are now at risk from the taliban and islamic state, according to. When the british began to withdraw their forces from afghanistan in 2012, the afghan civilians they employed as interpreters, cooks and security guards, became even more exposed to threats, losing the limited protection that military bases granted them. A small handful of meps translators are american citizens of afghan descent. Senior officers expressed anger over the governments decision to deny two former afghan interpreters the right to live in the uk ben. Afghan interpreters uk immigration fee waived bbc news.
Find mission essential afghanistan jobs on glassdoor. For example, basir steve ahmed was returning from a bombclearing mission in khogyani district in northeastern afghanistan. Last week, the senate followed the house in passing a defense bill that discontinues the program. May 04, 2018 currently, the interpreters wives and children are not allowed to live in the uk unless they travelled at the same time as those given permits. Abandoned by the british, afghan interpreters explain how. Aug 17, 2015 list of translators and interpreters in afghanistan. When mep took over the afghanistan language contract, it overhauled the method by which lnls local nationals were paid, improving it. Currently, the interpreters wives and children are not allowed to live in the uk unless they travelled at the same time as those given permits. Us military blacklisted afghan translators,interpreters in afghanistan, kabul, afghanistan. Marc peltier, mep s chief operating officer, said in an interview with abc news that he had no reports from the field of translators who could not communicate in dari or pashto, and said the. Jul 16, 2014 the interpreters who worked alongside american and nato forces in afghanistan are among our bravest and most loyal allies. Association of left behind afghan interpreters home facebook. Afghan interpreters betrayed by uk and us bbc news. Indeed ranks job ads based on a combination of employer bids and relevance, such as your search terms and other activity on indeed.
An afghan national challenging the governments treatment of fellow interpreters who worked for the british army claims to have. Translatorinterpreter translatorinterpreter former employee kabulafghanista may 25, 2019 i have worked with us army as an interpreter, it was a great job, on one side i have improved my english language pronunciation and comprehension and on the other side i had good salary. Funk alleged that mep officials erroneously certified 28% of their interpreters as fluent in dari and pashto. In the army, qualified students can earn fulltuition, meritbased scholarships, allowances for books and fees, plus an annual stipend for living expenses. Aug 28, 2008 story on dangers of being an interpreter for the troops. Afghan interpreters, who worked with british troops fighting the taliban, will be allowed to stay in the uk for free, home secretary sajid javid has confirmed after it emerged they could face. Use our job search tool to sort through over 2 million real jobs. The interpreters who worked alongside american and nato forces in afghanistan are among our bravest and most loyal allies. A lawsuit was filed against pentagon contractor mission essential personnel mep by one of its employees, peter funk. Jun 23, 2016 afghan interpreters betrayed jump to media player the taliban in afghanistan are targeting frontline interpreters who worked with british and us forces and say they have been rejected by their. There were very few military interpreters in afghanistan before the us war started in 2001 and as hundreds of thousands of coalition troops poured into afghanistan, the need for dari and pashto interpreters and linguists mushroomed overnight. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Hundreds of american military contractors lined up to provide interpreters for the army and billions of dollars changed. Afghan interpreters betrayed jump to media player the taliban in afghanistan are targeting frontline interpreters who worked with british and. Mep whistleblower and the use of sub par interpreters in. Story on dangers of being an interpreter for the troops. Afghan interpreter visa program expanded in a rare bipartisan vote sgt. Forces told they can no longer apply for special visas. But many learn crucial languages on the job, resulting in deadly mishaps. Army intelligence and security command inscom to provide 1,691 translators in afghanistan. Interpreter and translator job description, duties and jobs. The fate of afghan interpreters left behind troubles erin trieb, an american photojournalist, who covered american infantry units in afghanistan from 2009 to 2011. Jul 11, 2014 interpreters who risked their lives to help american soldiers in afghanistan have come to the u. Sep 07, 2010 marc peltier, mep s chief operating officer, said in an interview with abc news that he had no reports from the field of translators who could not communicate in dari or pashto, and said the. Afghan interpreter blown up by taliban tells of dangers. Hearing on interpreters in conflict zones in the european.
Afghan interpreter visa program expanded in a rare bipartisan. They played an essential role in sourcing intelligence and educating. Since the withdrawal of the majority of uk forces from the region, and the collapse of helmand province following the occupation, many interpreters have been targeted by local militants and some have even been killed. Mep defeated the incumbent contractor, san diego, california based titan corporation. Meps interpreters in afghanistan were not authorized to carry weapons, the military said. Afghan interpreters who served with british army able to stay. All combat interpreters please share your experience and your problems with us in this page.
Interpreters who risked their lives to help american soldiers in afghanistan have come to the u. Mep s interpreters in afghanistan were not authorised to carry weapons, the military said. Us troops rely on local afghan interpreters in the mission to win hearts and minds in the afghanistan war. Injured translators and the families of those killed have waited months for payments, lost in a bureaucratic maze. Uk government dismally failed afghan interpreters who worked for. Former terp rafi hottak was wounded by an ied in 2007 while working with a british military unit and later fled to britain fearing for his life. British longest serving afghan military interpreter refused right to live. Jan 25, 2014 kandahar, afghanistan noor ahmad noori, an afghan interpreter who formerly worked for the new york times in afghanistan, was found beaten and stabbed to death, wrapped in a sack and dumped on. Mep said the lack of written agreements was to protect the local hires who are not allowed to carry any documents that link them to the u. May 04, 2018 afghan interpreters, who worked with british troops fighting the taliban, will be allowed to stay in the uk for free, home secretary sajid javid has confirmed after it emerged they could face. Mep then dispatched those personnel to afghanistan to support u. Job description and duties for interpreter and translator. Afghanistan list of translators and interpreters gov. Military translators how do you say we have no idea what were.
Perkins, who served two tours of duty in afghanistan as a captain in the scots guards, started the petition on calling for greater protection for the. In recognition of their work and its risks, the uk government put two schemes in place. May 25, 2018 the government has dismally failed to protect afghans who worked as interpreters for the british army and are now at risk from the taliban and islamic state, according to a commons defence. Use our career test report to get your career on track and keep it there. Contractor accused of negligence in soldier deaths news. Glassdoor lets you search all open interpreter jobs in afghanistan. Jan 19, 2012 a lawsuit was filed against pentagon contractor mission essential personnel mep by one of its employees, peter funk. Jul 12, 2011 the violence at nunez came as mep was struggling to control its workforce in afghanistan, according to confidential government reports written in 2009 and 2010 by u. Another mep interpreter at nunez had an ak47 in his living quarters, violating the requirements of the contract, the lawsuit said. Families of killed soldiers sue united states defense. Afghan translators injured while working for the u.
Marine special operations in afghanistan ahmed azizi. Indeed may be compensated by these employers, helping keep indeed free for jobseekers. List of translators and interpreters in afghanistan. Congress approved the special immigrant visa siv program in 2009, and some 9,200 afghans have received an siv, along with 17,000 of their dependents. That means that the state department will most likely run out of visas, which have provided an. Aug 01, 2014 afghan interpreter visa program expanded in a rare bipartisan vote sgt. Because they had to speak both of afghanistans official languages dari, the language of the northern ethnic groups and the afghan national army, and pashto, the language of the southern pashtun population and the taliban the interpreters are a diverse group, representing afghanistans various ethnicities. Opinion a broken promise in afghanistan the new york times. The fate of afghan war interpreters afghan translation. Mep was awarded a fiveyear contract in september 2007 by the u. Dec 31, 2014 afghan interpreter identifies colleagues in beheading footage.
But the program also is vital for our national security. The visa that sakhidad afghan was waiting for was intended as a lifeline for interpreters who are threatened. Mep s interpreters in afghanistan were not authorized to carry weapons, the military said. Kandahar, afghanistan noor ahmad noori, an afghan interpreter who formerly worked for the new york times in afghanistan, was found beaten and stabbed to death, wrapped in a sack and dumped on. Jun 23, 2016 last week, the senate followed the house in passing a defense bill that discontinues the program.
We use cookies to collect information about how you use gov. Mep, the contractor, would not even if the allegations are true be at all. Another mep interpreter at nunez had an ak47 in his living quarters, violating the requirements of the. Association of left behind afghan interpreters, kabul, afghanistan. Aug 14, 2009 mep was awarded a fiveyear contract in september 2007 by the u. An incisive panel discussion on the indispensable and often underappreciated role played by foreign interpreters during americas war on terror, and the significant challenges faced by these allies in their postwar lives. Mission essential, translators expendable corpwatch. Contractor accused of negligence in soldier deaths wpbn. Mep whistleblower and the use of sub par interpreters in afghanistan. Many western governments still do not recognise the debt of gratitude they owe to the local interpreters without whom their troops could not have operated in countries such as iraq and afghanistan. Us military blacklisted afghan translators,interpreters in. Afghan and iraqi interpreters in war memoir and fiction one aspect of the wars in iraq and afghanistan not generally understood is how dependent were american and other western forces on the services of native interpreters to mediate virtually every interaction with hostnation military personnel and civilians. Afghan interpreters who risked their lives while serving for the british army have been dismally failed by the uk government, mps have. Meps interpreters in afghanistan were not authorised to carry weapons, the military said.
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