Stranded in Greece, Afghan Interpreters Feel Abandoned by US, Coalition

Stranded¹ in Greece, Afghan Interpreters Feel Abandoned by US, Coalition²

ATHENS—

Among the tens of thousands of refugees stranded in Greece are many Afghan nationals.  VOA spoke³ to several of them who claim they were forced to flee threats from the Taliban because they had worked with U.S. and coalition forces.  

Among them are Mohammed and Yusuf, who say they feel abandoned by the United States.  We’ve changed their names to protect family members back home.

Until last year, the former medical students worked in a hospital run by South Korean forces at the U.S. Air Base at Bagram in Afghanistan.

They lost their jobs after the South Koreans withdrew from the country.

“I went to Bagram airfield⁴ for six years.  I was just covering my face you know, going from home and going back covering my face, so the people don’t know where I am working,” said Mohammed.

Mohammed and Yusuf applied⁵ for Special Immigrant Visas or SIVs, a program set up to help Afghan and Iraqi nationals who worked with U.S. forces to gain asylum⁶ in the United States.  VOA has seen their documentation.

“At the end they told me that you are not eligible⁷ for this visa,” Mohammed told VOA.  “Then I asked why, they said because we have been working with South Korean people.  But the South Korean hospital was located in Bagram airfield.  Bagram airfield is U.S. property.”

Then they asked the Seoul government for help, but were told that South Korea has no asylum procedures.

After receiving threats from the Taliban, they fled to Europe, with Mohammed’s 16-year-old son.

They now live in a makeshift refugee camp at the former Olympic Park in Athens.  Their bed is a concrete floor; they don’t even have a tent.

“There is no hygiene⁸, the situation is very bad.  And I am Physician’s Assistant and Medical Interpreter.  But why I am here, what should I do here?” asked Mohammed.

In an emailed statement, a U.S. State Department official told VOA that amendments⁹ had been made "to include certain Afghans who were employed by the International Security Assistance Force."  The official added that, "improving the processing time remains¹⁰ an area of focus both here in Washington and at our embassy in Kabul."

Mohammed’s decision is on appeal, but he has been given no time frame.

Benjamin Hill, a retired¹¹ U.S. Army physician and one of several former servicemen who provided Mohammed with a reference for his visa application, told VOA that he is dismayed by his former colleague’s situation.

“I really have very little concern that he would be a threat of any kind to the United States, just by the character that he presented.  And of course the level of competency he brings in relative to his skill as well as his language abilities again can only do positive things for the receiving nation,” said Hill.

VOA spoke to several other Afghan refugees in Greece who said they were awaiting decisions on SIV applications.

The U.S. government says it has issued more than 20,000 visas to Afghan nationals since October 2014.  For Mohammed and Yusuf, the wait goes on.

1 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 airfield   

n.飞机场

参考例句：

• The foreign guests were motored from the airfield to the hotel.用车把外宾从机场送到旅馆。
• The airfield was seized by enemy troops.机场被敌军占领。

5 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

6 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

7 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

8 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

9 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。