Image: CS Monitor

Faizel Patel – 29/06/2021

Thousands of Afghans who assisted the United States are concerned for their safety as US forces prepare to withdraw.

For nearly 20 years, thousands of Afghans have risked their lives to work with US troops, in what became America’s longest war.

But that war is coming to an end, at least from a US perspective, and it’s leaving those Afghans feeling more threatened by the prospect of Taliban attacks as the US troop withdrawal approaches.

Speaking to Radio Islam, Professor of peace studies at the American University of Afghanistan Victoria Fontan says the primary motive of the Afghans is to save their lives and the lives of their families.

“The Taliban have issued a statement a few weeks ago indicating that there should be no retaliation against persons who collaborated with coalition forces if those persons repented. But then it is really unclear what this repentance means and of course all can be left to interpretation.”

Fontan says Afghans who assisted the US are applying for a special immigration visas which is a long protracted process that can last up to three years.

“Some people will have gone through an application for one year, two years and then the application will be cancelled or denied without any explanation, so what they’re seeking is a swift process. The US authorities have issued a statement that they would seek relocate some of those members, some of those individuals by August. But then what happens between now and August is the question.”

Fontan says while some Afghans who collaborated with coalition forces may be seen as traitors, their assistance to US forces as perceived by those especially in the countryside is not about an ideological positioning against the coalition, but rather that individual having more opportunities by working with coalition forces.

(Twitter: @FaizelPatel143)

Listen to the interview with Victoria Fontan