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For Ayman, who worked as a translator for the US military in Iraq, it felt very personal to see that US allies in Afghanistan were left behind to face the Taliban after the US withdrew.
“They abandoned them – they didn’t keep their promise,” Aymen said, and for security reasons, he requested that only his name be used. “This is my idea.”
Ayman is one of thousands of Iraqis who have worked with the United States during the 18 years in Iraq, and has waited eight years to get a US visa.
Like many others, he himself was threatened by the Iraqi-Iranian militias who opposed the American presence in the country. When American influence in the country began to fade, Ayman worried that people like him would face more violence at the hands of powerful militias, as some Afghans experienced when the Taliban took over.
“There will be more chaos, more kidnappings, more killings,” Ayman told Al Jazeera.
After seeing the U.S. failing to withdraw most of its wartime allies in Afghanistan before the Taliban took over this month, Iraqis working with the U.S. are now more afraid than ever that a similar fate may await them Conclusion of the plan The U.S. combat mission in Iraq at the end of this year.
Analysts say that although this transition may be more like a transition to a training and advisory role than a full withdrawal, the militia allied with Iran and other groups in Iraq are increasingly threatening US wartime allies, exacerbating security concerns. Between communities.
Although some people still believe that their visa applications will be processed before they fall into danger, many people have now lost hope that the United States can help them leave the country.
“This broke my hopes. We have great hopes and believe that the United States will never leave us behind,” said Omar, another former U.S. military translator.
Omar also asked not to reveal his surname for security reasons. He said that when he realized that US President Joe Biden’s promise to substantially expand visa access would not be realized in the short term for Iraqis like him At that time, he was shocked. He fled from Iraq to Egypt in 2021, where he continued to apply for a US visa.
“We sacrificed our lives, we sacrificed our families, and we accepted a dangerous job to support their mission in Iraq,” Omar said. “If they leave us in the future, who will they leave us for? We are faced with more than 20 different militia organizations.”
‘Don’t wait until the last minute’
Many Iraqi translators, linguists, and contractors working with Americans are eligible for the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, which has Existing since 2006 As an ally of the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan.
this The program is still closed However, for new Iraqi applicants since 2014, as of last year, it is estimated that there are Backlog of about 100,000 Application by Iraqis and their families.
Dina al-Bayati, a former Iraqi SIV recipient, said: “Before the same happens in Afghanistan, the organization needs resources to start dealing with Iraqis again. This has happened, but it has remained silent.” An immigration activist and a member of the advisory board of the Allies Association during the war. “A different approach can be taken not to wait until the last minute.”
The backlog of cases sometimes proves to be fatal– according to According to the Washington Post, more than 1,000 translators in the two countries were killed while waiting for years to process their applications.
Karokh Khoshnaw, director of the U.S.-Kurdish Institute in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, said that the end of the U.S. mission in Iraq was largely to appease the opposition of Iraq’s Shi’ite parties. The superficial changes made by the US sentiment will not lead to a substantial reduction in the number of troops. However, the threat to US wartime allies is very real.
“This kind of group, if they are Shia [Iran-aligned militias] Or Sunni [ISIL] Or Al Qaeda, they don’t accept any Iraqi citizen working with the US military, the US consulate or any of them,” Khoshnaw said. “So yes, there is a threat. “
‘Judge based on your own merits’
Since the anti-ISIL movement that began in 2014 rose to fame, militias linked to Iraq and Iran have participated in the kidnapping and assassination of activists and members of civil society. And rocket attack Oppose foreign forces in Iraq, which are often not under the control of the Iraqi government itself.
Earlier this year, after a militia leader was arrested, they surrounded the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kadimi in Baghdad, demonstrating their power in Iraq. A few days after the confrontation, the leader was released, and the militia clearly defeated al-Kadhimi.
When asked how the United States will avoid a situation similar to that of Afghanistan in Iraq, the U.S. State Department officials discouraged comparisons between the two countries, saying that the U.S. role in Iraq “should be judged according to its own circumstances” and that the U.S. presence in Iraq is “It’s just evolution.” The official stated that Iraq will continue to attack ISIL, but it has not directly addressed concerns that militias allied with Iran pose a threat to US allies.
Aymen knew that these militias were hunting him down-members of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), an organization allied with Iran, came to his home in Salahuddin province last year while traveling to Baghdad and asked his neighbors about him.
Another translator, Nikar, said that her home in Hanachin, Iraq, was shot and killed by ISIL members in 2014. Now, many years later, militias loyal to Iran have been asking her to wear a headscarf-even though she belongs to the minority Kakai faith, not Islam.
In the city of Najaf in south-central Iraq, Thay, a medical student, said that her husband worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army and lived separately from her and their children. This was largely because he received threats from Iran—there were Contact the militia.
He has been waiting for his SIV visa to be approved since 2012. Muhammad was a former translator of Erbil. His uncle was kidnapped by Al-Qaida in 2005. He said he had resigned and died at the hands of various armed groups in Iraq. .
“I think I’m dead, but I’m thinking about the future of my family,” Muhammad said, for security reasons, he asked to use his last name instead of the first name. He is the father of four daughters.
Although Mohammed’s militias supported by Iran do not exist in Iraqi Kurdistan, he said he still faces threats from potential informants.
‘Want to find a way out’
Sherzad Jawhir Khidhir, a PhD student at the Near Eastern University of Cyprus in Erbil, who specializes in controversial areas in Iraq, said that he has witnessed the growing interest in the alternative non-SIV immigration pathways provided by Facebook groups to cater to Iraqis cooperating with the United States. interest.
“Now many people are asking how to apply for IOM [International Organization for Migration],” said Khidhir, who himself worked as an interpreter in the U.S. military. “So this means that people care about what they see in Afghanistan, and they want to find a way to escape from Iraq. “
Neekar, a translator from Khanaqin, also applied to IOM in 2014, and has been waiting for her application to progress ever since. Although the situation in Afghanistan continues, she said she still believes that the United States will one day help her leave Iraq.
“I have hope,” she said. “I think if people want life, they must respond to faith.”
The U.S. State Department reaffirmed the U.S.’s “commitment to support partners” in Iraq. But Mohamed and Omar are not sure how much confidence they still have. Both are currently unemployed because they continue to wait to process their SIV applications.
Omar said that the uncertain future “destroyed” his family. He, Mohammed, and other Iraqi translators interviewed by Al Jazeera asked the United States to reopen the SIV program for new applicants in Iraq, speed up the process, and transport the applicants to a third country for processing.
But for Thay and other Iraqis, even applying for the SIV program is futile. Although her husband was eligible, he refused to apply, preferring to put his trust in Iraq for a safer future.
“He has no hope,” Thay said. She recalled her frequent discussions with her husband and tried to persuade him to submit documents to the plan. Although initially she thought it was worthwhile to try to apply, her views have steadily changed over time.
“I told him that many people went out like this. He said,’Just say a name,'” she recalled. “In my opinion, he is right.”
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