Visa for Iraqis, Afghans who worked with U.S. troops offer little to help build a new life

By Malcolm Garcia

Mar. 19, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune News Service delivered by Newstex) -- KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Mohammad Naseer Yasini sat alone in a North Kansas City apartment and recalled life under the Taliban.

At that time, he never imagined he would one day work for American soldiers.

He was young, still a boy then, but his memories remain clear. It was a stressful time in Afghanistan, he said. Very few people had jobs or other opportunities. He smiled a little ruefully.

"Something like my life here," said Yasini, 29. "When I have a job, I'll say then I am happy."

Yasini arrived in Kansas City last month and is one of the hundreds of Iraqis and Afghans who move to the United States on a special immigrant visa after serving alongside American troops in their home countries. The visa was created specifically for those Iraqi and Afghan nationals whose lives have been threatened because of their work for U.S. forces.

But many of these refugees do not feel special. They arrive here reliant on nonprofit social service agencies and become ensnared in the red tape of securing federal resettlement assistance for housing, employment, health care and other necessary needs. They often find they cannot resume the professional careers they once held or had planned in their native countries.

What federal resettlement benefits they do receive expire in six months for Afghans and eight months for Iraqis, a small time frame to start a new life in a new country that they had risked their lives for, said Bob Carey, vice president for resettlement and migration policy for the International Rescue Committee.

"They are essentially dumped here," Carey said. "They are not getting shot or killed, but they are not getting the resources they need. It's comparable to American veterans not receiving the services they need. We're not serving well those who suffered on behalf of the United States."

A special visa applicant must have worked directly with U.S. armed forces as a translator for a period of at least 12 months, have obtained a favorable recommendation from a general or a commissioned officer, and have cleared a background check and screening required on a case-by-case basis.

At least 264 interpreters serving troops in Afghanistan and Iraq were killed from 2003 to 2008 -- targeted by militias, assassins and kidnappers. Causes of death ranged from booby traps to evisceration. An additional 403 were seriously wounded. Many lost limbs. Some lost their eyesight.

According to the State Department, 500 special immigrant visas for interpreters are available this fiscal year. Since 2006, when the special visa for interpreters was created, 1,735 of these applications have been approved.

In Kansas City, Jewish Vocational Services has resettled 26 Afghans since 2000 and 412 Iraqis since 1997. In recent years, more and more of these refugees have worked for U.S. armed forces.

"Some of the problems they have when they get here are usually around a delay in getting their documents," said Jewish Vocational Services employment coordinator Abdul Bakar. "Their expectations are so high, especially with well-qualified people, that they get frustrated. They tell me: 'For this we sacrificed against our own people?' "

Yasini, 29, grew up in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and studied law. After a U.S.-led military coalition entered Kabul in 2001, Yasini continued his studies but also applied to be an interpreter for the U.S. Army. He was hired and stationed at the Kabul Military Training Center, where the new Afghan National Army trained. He worked as an interpreter from 2003 to 2008, and his pay averaged between $350 and $420 a month.

As the security situation began to deteriorate in the face of a revitalized Taliban insurgency, Yasini decided to leave.

"I had some threats against me and finally asked an officer to sponsor me to go to the United States on a special visa," he said. "The threats were from people who did not like the United States. They looked for opportunities to take their anger out on us. It was very dangerous."

Said Iabiullah, 23, also received threats. Like Yasini, Iabiullah was a university student, studying engineering. He was hired to translate for the U.S. Army in 2002. He was stationed within Kundar province in southeastern Afghanistan, a Taliban stronghold.

"I saw American soldiers get killed in front of me," he said. "I would get very depressed. You never knew when the Taliban would start shooting."

Iabiullah often found ragged pieces of paper plastered on village mosques that called for jihad and offered bounties of up to $25,000 for Afghan interpreters. He would get calls on his cell phone telling him to quit his job or join the Taliban.

"I see you every day," one caller told him. "Go home or work with us."

Last year, an Army captain told Iabiullah to apply for a special immigrant visa for the United States. I want a better life for you, the captain told him. Iabiullah arrived in Kansas City last month.

"All the time I am at home waiting to get my Social Security card, so I can work," Iabiullah said.

Every day spent waiting to look for a job is a day lost, said Carey of the International Rescue Committee.

"Resettlement programs were premised on the idea that people will go to work quickly," he said. "In the current economy, that's no longer the case. People come to the end of their assistance and they are unable to support themselves. It's a pretty primitive way to make a start in the U.S. after putting their lives in danger."

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