Afghan interpretors need help

A former American soldier who served in Afghanistan in military intelligence during several tours, Jayson Harpster, is trying to get two of his close friends and their families out of the country.
At last check, the friends are still in Kabul, in hiding as they are being actively hunted by the Taliban. “The only route for them despite their eligibility, has become an unofficial one, which is fraught with danger and requires significant resources,” one of the Americans who is trying to get the family out says. “While helping get them out will not fix the systemic problems associated with evacuation and abandonment, this is an opportunity to help save the lives of two families”
This has been the most exhausting week of my life. “Two of my Afghan friends, Kohee and Nabi, have been on the run in Kabul attempting to escape from the Taliban. They are being hunted because of their work with me and other American soldiers for over a decade in Afghanistan,” Harpster said in an email.
“They have endured so much to get to freedom and time and time again this week they were turned away from the airport by American personnel,” Harpster said as evacuations were going on. “With the carnage at the airport closing that route, their only way to safety is to leave by land. And for that I am asking for your help again. The money we have sent so far has been essential in keeping them and their families alive and we’re raising more so that we can safely get them out of Afghanistan.”
The Americans have set up a GoFundMe page at gofund.me/a64738e3. Note that we have to be careful on the GoFundMe about specific families or destinations due to security concerns. But here we can be on Team Nabi and Kohee, the Americans’ message advised.
“We had gotten them visa paperwork, testimonials from multiple U.S. Army officers and veterans and a referral from Congress and they were still turned away from the airport,” Harpster said.

“Nabi evaded a half dozen Taliban checkpoints to get within six feet of his assigned meetup location only to be attacked with tear gas by U.S. guards and whipped by a Taliban fighter.
“They tried to use signs to alert the guards that they had Americans vouching for them. The guards read the signs but did nothing to help.” Kohee made it but was then stuck waiting for two and a half days in the sun until he had to get his pregnant wife and 19-month-old daughter to the hospital to treat dehydration.
“I will never forget navigating Kohee’s family around the Taliban checkpoints in the middle of the night and just praying that he made it. He was out of contact for 23 of the longest minutes of my life right as he approached the linkup location.
“But Kohee and Nabi haven’t given up. I haven’t given up. And the amazing team of volunteers that is helping us isn’t giving up.
The team has a plan to get them out. “We’re supporting them with everything we’ve got but we need more,” Harpster said. “We need more to have an operational reserve for whatever they need and we want to begin saving for the care and support their families will need once we get them to America.”
Jayson Harpster is a former U.S. Army sergeant. A friend of Albert Johnson of New Hope passed the request on for circulation in the local area.

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