The Refugee Translation Project serves refugees from all over the world, but the crisis in Afghanistan is one that particularly hits home. One of our translators barely escaped Afghanistan with his life. An American citizen and New York resident, he went back to Kabul to evacuate his family the week before Kabul fell. His status as a former interpreter for the US armed forces put him and his family in grave danger. Two days after the Taliban occupied Kabul, he attempted to reach the airport gates as instructed by the US embassy, but was unable to gain access due to the huge crowds and no system in place to let people in.

With armed Taliban roaming the streets, he decided to give up for the day and take his family into hiding. He finally made it inside the airport with his wife, but was unable to bring his parents and siblings, as they did not have visas or even passports to leave. After waiting two days at the airport, he and his wife finally boarded a flight to Qatar and eventually home. 

His family, along with thousands of other Afghans, are in imminent danger. The Taliban have been going door-to-door actively hunting down anyone whose family has worked with the US or Afghan governments. We fear for his family and have been writing letters to elected officials, nonprofit organizations, and military personnel to help evacuate them. We cannot turn our backs on the Afghans who need to escape.

Since August, RTP has been busy assisting the International Refugee Assistance Project and Artistic Freedom Initiative in translating materials and information to aid people who have fled or in the process of fleeing Afghanistan. We have also been translating identification and other documents for Afghans applying for asylum.

We are accepting donations in order to continue this crucial work and meet the anticipated demand for translation as visa and asylum applications get filed.