Aaron E. Fleming is a retired U.S. Marine Corps sergeant and an operations director with the advocacy group No One Left Behind.
When I joined the Marines, I knew that the battles I would experience would forever live in my heart, but I did not realize that my mission would be far from over even after I returned home. Today, my battle partner Sami Khazikani needs me to fight for his life more than ever.
Upon returning safely to the United States, I learned that Khazikani was in serious danger from the Taliban. Khazikani served on the battle lines with U.S. forces, ensuring our safety every day. We worked together to make sure the Marines in our unit made it back to their families in the United States.
But though Khazikani worked so hard to ensure my return to the United States, he is not able to come here himself — because he is an Afghan. Once the Marines he was serving with departed, the Taliban placed a price on his head. He and his wife, who was pregnant, had to flee the country.
The United States should offer refuge, because he served the U.S. military. In fact, there are legislative provisions that allow Iraqi and Afghan interpreters in this position to come here. Unfortunately, those programs are backlogged, and getting into the United States can take years. Khazikani feared that applying for a U.S. visa from Afghanistan would put him in even more danger as he waited, so he set out to relocate first and then apply from safer ground.
That’s how Khazikani, his wife and baby found themselves in the middle of the refugee crisis on the Hungarian border. They slept along train tracks and walked miles through frozen fields with little to eat. They were some of the lucky ones who made it into Germany, but they remain stranded. Khazikani is prepared to begin the visa process to get into the United States, but he doesn’t have years to wait. His life and his family are at stake, as he is in danger of being deported because Germany has already started sending Afghan refugees back. If returned, he and his wife would likely be killed by the Taliban.
Our country is undergoing a debate about how best to respond to the growing refugee crisis caused by the conflicts in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. A desire to help desperate people is balanced against the need to maintain the high levels of security of a careful vetting process and thorough background check. Quickly approving translators who have proved themselves through service to the U.S. military would be one way to streamline the process.
Once Khazikani arrives in the United States, I am willing to assume all financial costs for him and his family. I will welcome my friend into my home with open arms. I have funds pouring in from military families and others who want to support him. I have secured a job for him. We just need the State Department to approve his visa.
I call on the Obama administration, the State Department and Congress to take immediate action to intervene on behalf of Sami Khazikani and the hundreds of other translators from Iraq and Afghanistan who face similar dangers. This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It is a moral one.
Khazikani and those like him are the unsung heroes of the war in Afghanistan. We can honor them by providing them and their families with a refuge. As a Marine, I believe no man is left behind. As long as Sami is still in danger, my duty is not finished, and I cannot rest.
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