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Former Afghan interpreter says Taliban tortured him for weeks but U.S. still won't give him a visa_我的网站

A |     山脚下的晚风，把周末揉成了奶油色     刚把车停在营地的碎石停车场时，我还在为早上临时取消的加班会议懊恼。    As Massoud walked down a Kabul street one cold Sunday morning, looking for a day job to feed his family, pickup trucks full of armed Taliban members stopped in front of him. He told CBS News the men aimed their AK-47s at him, he was handcuffed, blindfolded and taken to an office of the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence.For more than a month, Massoud's family had no idea where he was. They searched everywhere, including hospitals, until they arrived at the Taliban's intelligence department. "After six weeks of searching, they found me at the Taliban's 040 intelligence department," Massoud told CBS News in a phone interview. He said during the first 15 days of his imprisonment, he was "beaten, struck with electric shock sticks, electrocuted, waterboarded and hanged upside down."

             

His crime? Massoud worked for the U.S. military as an interpreter from 2011 to 2013, including a year spent working with U.S. Navy SEALs. (CBS News is not using the real name of Massoud or the other former interpreter interviewed for this story to protect them from possible retaliation.)       

"Don't want to see that horror again" 

Massoud said that during interrogations, Taliban intelligence officers told him that, "with my help, the Americans have killed our people, and that I was still spying for the Americans.""I told them, 'You have announced a general amnesty,'" Massoud told CBS News, but he was informed by the Taliban interrogators, "there is no amnesty for you people."                 Massoud was finally released by the Taliban after more than three months of imprisonment, after his brothers signed two separate guarantees promising the Taliban they would bring him back to the intelligence agency if ever asked to do so. CBS News has seen the letters and other documents his family filed with Taliban officials while he was imprisoned."They can find me anytime they wish and put me back in the prison," he told CBS News. "I just don't want to see that horror again." 

"Still in danger"

U.S. Army Sgt. Jordan David Johnson, who has since been honorably discharged, was Massoud's direct supervisor in Helmand province and has written to members of the U.S. Congress supporting his former Afghan colleague's application for a U.S. visa, but to no avail. "Every time I hear from Massoud I feel guilty, because he is still in danger," Johnson told CBS News. "We told them that, 'You help us, and we will help you.' But now we are not, and that is wrong."

             

In a September 2022 letter to lawmakers, Johnson said he trusted Massoud then, "and I am proud to call him a friend today," adding that he did not believe the Afghan "poses a national security threat to the United States of America."                      

"They will come after me and my family"

Omar, 32, told CBS News that he worked with the U.S. military from 2008 until 2012 and was deployed alongside U.S. troops in eastern Paktia province. From 2012 until Afghanistan fell back into the Taliban's hands in August 2021, he worked on various projects with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. He was threatened many times for working with the U.S. and was injured in what he believes was an assassination attempt in 2014, after he filed for a U.S. visa. 

    

                                                     

    

Despite the threats, which he continued reporting to his supervisors at the embassy, Omar was informed that his U.S. Special Immigration Visa, or SIV, application had been rejected because documents he submitted previously had been deemed fraudulent. He believes it's because he failed a polygraph administered by U.S. officials eight years earlier, and that the process was unfair. "They intentionally make you a criminal," he told CBS News. "You are only allowed to answer their questions with yes and no, and they don't give you a chance to explain." Omar filed an appeal against the rejection of his application in mid-June and is waiting for a response. He urged the U.S. government to "seriously look into our cases and take us into safety," adding that if it doesn't happen, "they will come after me and my family one day."

"Absurd that it takes so long"

During the 20-year war that followed the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, thousands of Afghans served as interpreters and translators, working shoulder to shoulder with U.S. troops and diplomats, risking their lives serving on the battlefield and communicating with locals.                       These interpreters were essential to bridge the language barrier, but also to provide cultural context, gather intelligence, negotiate with tribal elders and build trust with local communities. Massoud and Omar both applied for SIVs under a program created by the U.S. Congress in 2006 to offer legal pathways to the United States for Iraqis and Afghans who helped during the U.S. military operations in those countries. But the bureaucracy of the SIV application process has left many applicants frustrated, with little faith in the program.Massoud said his application was rejected due to a lack of documentation from his supervisors, despite Johnson trying to help. He said he submitted the requested documents and has waited for more than 320 days with no update from the U.S. government. "Every time Massoud submits all his documents and we think, 'now we are waiting for his visa to be approved,' then Massoud would contact me again saying, 'I need this and this document, because they keep changing the requirements,'" Johnson said. 

    

                                                     

    

"The SIV process is flawed and ridiculous and absurd that it takes so long. These interpreters, their lives are in danger," the former U.S. soldier told CBS News. "We don't do enough for them, and it's very frustrating."

The backlog, and work to improve a "vital program"

"We have surged resources to this vital program, significantly increasing the number of staff dedicated to it. We have reviewed every stage of the multiple step application process to streamline it wherever possible, consistent with U.S. law, and continue to look for areas to improve," a State Department spokesperson told CBS News.The official said the steps had enabled the State Department to issue "nearly 34,000 SIVs to principal applicants and their eligible family members" from the beginning of the Biden administration until August 1, 2023.                      As of the end of March, State Department figures show about 9,800 principal SIV applicants had cleared a major hurdle in the process, securing Chief Of Mission (COM) approval. Those individuals are "awaiting further processing and their eventual visa interview before being issued an SIV," the spokesperson said, adding: "We are working to process these cases as quickly as possible."The State Department's figures show that another 69,000 principal applicants were undergoing the review process, and the spokesperson told CBS News that, historically, about half of the applications who reach that stage of the process do not end up qualifying for an SIV.According to the figures, 3,241 Afghan applicants were "deemed unqualified to receive COM approval or had the approval revoked during the second quarter" of 2023."The Department will continue to ensure Afghan SIV applications are processed as quickly as possible in accordance with the statutorily required program parameters and national security requirements," the spokesman told CBS News. A report issued this week by a State Department inspector general said, meanwhile, that according to the department's own estimation, as of April 2023, a total of "more than 840,000 principal and derivative SIV applicants remained in Afghanistan."CBS News' Tucker Reals and Paulina Smolinski contributed to this report.                                 

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。导航屏幕上最后几公里的盘山路，连带着山坳里若隐若现的白色帐篷，都像隔着一层雾的旧照片——直到车门被山风撞开，带着松针和青草气息的凉意裹住脸，我才突然想起，这次出发前特意把电脑塞进了后备箱最底层。    这是我攒了三个月的周末出逃计划。朋友阿凯提前一周就把营地订好了，说是藏在城郊山谷里的”懒人营地”，连炭炉和串儿都帮我们备齐了。我本来还抱着”找个地方摸鱼发呆”的心态，没想到刚下车就被治愈了：营地顺着溪流铺成一片，原木色的天幕搭在浅滩边，几只柯基正追着水洼里的落叶跑，远处的山尖还沾着清晨的薄雾，连空气里都飘着淡淡的柠檬香，是营地免费提供的驱蚊喷雾混着烧烤的甜香。

B |     我们的营地位置最好，刚好在溪流转弯的地方，浅滩的水刚没过脚踝，搬几块鹅卵石就能当凳子坐。阿凯和另两个朋友已经把装备搭好了：折叠桌铺着格子餐布，上面摆着切好的西瓜、冰好的气泡水，还有提前腌好的五花肉和鸡翅。我本来想搭把手，却被阿凯按在折叠椅上：“歇着歇着，老板早就把炭烧好了，你负责当’品鉴官’就行。         ”     其实我本来是个有点”规划焦虑”的人，出门总要列三张清单，生怕漏了充电器或者换洗衣物。但这次完全不用操心——营地提前把食材分袋装好，连锡纸和刷子都放在了指定的收纳箱里，老板还特意提醒我们，上游有个浅滩可以捞小鱼，傍晚的山风最舒服，别在太阳最毒的时候出门。我们把随身的背包扔在天幕下，脱了鞋踩进水里，冰凉的溪水冲走了半个月的疲惫，连手机震动的声音都显得格外刺耳，索性把屏幕朝下扣在石头上，彻底断了和工作的联系。    第一次露营烧烤的新手总是状况百出。阿凯把炭炉点着的时候，烟差点把我们呛出眼泪，旁边营地的大叔递来一把扇子，笑着说”年轻人就是急”，还教我们怎么把炭块摆成金字塔形，说这样火最匀。不一会儿，鸡翅的油滴在炭火上，滋滋地冒着泡，裹着辣椒面的肉香混着山风飘出去，连路过的小朋友都趴在栅栏边喊”好香啊”。         我们把烤好的串儿放在餐盘里，就着冰镇的酸梅汤啃，咬开第一口的时候，五花肉的油脂在嘴里化开，比城里西餐厅的烤肉还要香——大概是因为风里带着松针的味道，连肉都变得清甜起来。    下午的时光慢得像被拉长了的橡皮筋。

C | 我们躺在天幕下的充气床上，看云在山尖慢悠悠地飘，阿凯掏出吉他弹起了《晴天》，歌声混着溪流的声音，比任何音响都好听。有个戴眼镜的男生带着画板来写生，说这里的光影比画室里的模特更生动，我们凑过去看的时候，他笔下的山坳已经染上了暖金色，连我们搭帐篷的影子都画得清清楚楚。后来我们还一起捞了半桶小鱼，放在透明的塑料盆里看它们摆尾巴，直到太阳快落山的时候，才把它们送回了更深的溪水里。    天色暗下来的时候，营地的灯串亮了起来，暖黄色的光串在天幕上，像把星星摘下来挂在了帐篷边。老板搬来音响，放起了轻柔的民谣，有人开始围着篝火跳舞，有人在天幕下玩起了狼人杀，我们则把带来的投影仪架在石头上，放起了小时候看过的《天书奇谭》。

D |          溪水里映着灯串的光，晃得像碎掉的银河，我靠在朋友的肩膀上，突然觉得生活其实不用那么紧绷——不用赶早高峰，不用改第十版的方案，不用在微信群里秒回消息，只要在这里，就能把时间掰成一小块一小块，慢慢嚼出甜味。

E |     临睡前我们把篝火堆成了小堆，坐在石头上看星星。城里已经很久没见过这么多星星了，密密麻麻地铺在黑色的天幕上，连银河都看得清清楚楚。阿凯说，他选这个营地就是因为老板不允许带音响过夜，“这里的声音本来就够好听了”。我点点头，风裹着溪水的声音吹过来，连呼吸都变得轻了，生怕惊飞了天上的星星。    返程的时候，我把电脑原封不动地放回了书房。后备箱里还留着半袋烤好的玉米和营地老板送的野蜂蜜，车窗开着，山风灌进来，带着刚晒过的青草香。其实这次出游最治愈的不是风景，而是那种”一切都被妥帖安排好”的松弛感——不用提前查攻略，不用纠结带什么东西，不用怕做错什么，只要跟着自己的节奏，就能把普通的周末变成一辈子都记得的傍晚。    后来我把拍的照片发给同事，他们都说”好羡慕”。其实我想说，不是营地有多好，也不是风景有多美，而是我们终于愿意停下来，把生活的遥控器交给自己，让晚风把紧绷的神经吹软，让山水把心里的褶皱熨平。毕竟人生哪有那么多必须赶的路，偶尔停下来，在山脚下吹吹风，吃一串烤得焦香的肉串，才是对周末最起码的尊重。返回，查看更多。

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