An Afghan refugee describes an emotional trip to the United States after fleeing Kabul: “I left a part of my family there”

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As an interpreter for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Selanee worked alongside Rodriguez when he was deployed to Kunar province, helping countless U.S. soldiers work with locals and navigate a dangerous region. In doing so, they became a prime target of the Taliban when they took control of Afghanistan.

“They’ve already started going into soldiers’ houses and looking for them, you know? And asking their families to bring your son. Give us guns, give us this, give us this,” Selanee said of the Taliban.

“Honestly, our soldiers only used their country and made money to feed their family.”

While the Taliban said they would not harm those working with foreign forces, revenge attacks have been reported; an interpreter was dragged from his car and beheaded by Taliban militants in May, according to witnesses. And while the Biden administration pledged to help Afghans working for and on behalf of the U.S. government and military, Selanee’s frantic trip to the United States highlights the dangers they face. Special Immigrant Visa applicants on leaving Afghanistan.
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Selanee had first started acting as a teenager, working with U.S. forces from 2007 to 2013, Rodriguez said. He later became a commando in an elite Afghan unit and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

As the Taliban toured Afghanistan this month, taking city after city, Selanee fought alongside his men as commander in Kandahar before retreating with his forces and heading for Kabul airport, where they helped U.S. forces secure the perimeter.

At the airport, he was reunited with his family, including his wife, a younger brother and five children. They boarded an evacuation flight to Qatar, intending to go to Germany later before going to the US.

“I don’t know where they’re going to take us. To be honest, sir, we have no idea what will happen the next day, you know?” told CNN from the Qatar hangar that his family shared with dozens of other people evacuated.

Instead of flying to Germany, the Selanee family flew to Washington. To tell Rodriguez where they were going, a flight attendant wrote it on a napkin for him: “Washington DC USA, airport: IAD.”

Rodriguez immediately bought a ticket and flew from Seattle, trying to track Selanee’s progress with messages she was marketing on WhatsApp. Selanee told Rodriguez they were detained, that his wife and son had been taken to a hospital in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Twenty-four hours after Selanee’s arrival, Rodriguez learned that the family had been moved to a temporary facility near Dulles Airport.

“This guy is special for several reasons. Look, all these people have gone through hell and back. But this guy is special because he’s very loyal to Americans,” Rodriguez said. “And then he, and then he continued, you know, in command, probably the most elite special operations unit in all of Afghanistan.”

Rodriguez bought Selanee, who is now being processed in Fort Lee, Virginia, new clothes and a phone as he begins his life in the country where he helped Afghanistan for years.

But worrying about family members for their family members has nothing to do with their new life in the United States.

Almost all the countries involved in the evacuation efforts (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain, Italy and more) have completed their operations and withdrawn from the country. The last U.S. military planes left Kabul on Monday, leading to the total withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

“I’m happy because I’m safe here with my family,” Selanee said. “But I’m still unhappy because I left a part of my family there.”

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