Spencer Sullivan and Abdulhaq Sodais.Photo: Peter Dejong/AP/Shutterstock
An American soldier is finally breathing a sigh of relief after learning that his longtime translator has been granted asylum in Germany after fleeing Afghanistan.
Army veteran Spencer Sullivan told theAssociated Presshe has spent the past several years advocating on behalf of Abdulhaq Sodais, who translated for Sullivan’s platoon while they were deployed to Afghanistan.
Sodais — who fled to Germany via smugglers after being repeatedly denied a U.S. visa — learned Wednesday that he would be granted asylum and immediately let his old friend know.
Upon hearing the news, Sullivan told theAP: “I just started crying.”
Spencer Sullivan and Abdulhaq Sodais.Peter Dejong/AP/Shutterstock
For Sullivan, the issue is deeply personal — both because of the close bond he has with Sodais, and because of his history with interpreters.
Determined not to let that happen to Sodais, Sullivan began working months ago to help his former translator escape Afghanistan — writing letters of recommendation and obtaining records from the U.S. to help him in his quest for asylum.
“I made a promise to him just as America made a promise to him to protect him and save his life,” Sullivan told theAP. “I mean, how can you turn your back on that promise? I don’t think the answer is more complicated than that. I think it’s actually very simple.”
Sodais used smugglers to help him get out, the outlet reports, traveling for seven months and being beaten and jailed before arriving in Germany. His first asylum request in Germany was denied but on Wednesday, Sodais got news that it had been granted — and he will be able to apply for German citizenship in three years.
As Sodais told theAP: “I’m feeling right now that I will have an amazing future.”
Peter Dejong/AP/Shutterstock
Sullivan is one of many American veterans who have been working behind-the-scenes to get their former translators out of Afghanistan, where the Taliban rapidly took over as the U.S. began its military exit in August.
By August, the situation in Afghanistan had deteriorated, as the Taliban took Kabul and scenes of chaos and panic set in the airport.
The situation calmed somewhat, though questions lingered about who would be eligible to leave the country.
Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the head of U.S. Central Command, announced the U.S. withdrawal had completed during alast-minute press briefingheld Aug. 30.
While critics denounced PresidentJoe Biden’s handling of the exit, he said it was time to finish a “forever war” that had already cost too much.
As for the Afghans who still wish to escape their country and the Taliban, Gen. McKenzie has said that the solution would be a diplomatic and not a military one.
source: people.com
