Afghan translators risked their lives for the U.S. The U.S. has left them to die.
Take urgent action to save Hady and the thousands of Afghan translators the U.S. left behind:
Hady worked for 11 years as an interpreter, supporting refugees through the UN. His work – and perceived ties to the U.S – made him a target of the Taliban. His story is similar to that of thousands of his fellow Afghan translators formerly employed by the UN or the US military who have been exiled, tortured, or killed.
After enduring years of threats, he and his family had hopes to find safety in the U.S. But this hope was obliterated when the Trump administration turned them away.
Hady’s decade-long employment by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is the cause of the threats to Hady’s life.
And now, we need the UNHCR to heed our calls to submit Hady’s case for urgent resettlement to a safe country.
This month, Hady was followed by armed attackers while on his way to the pharmacy to retrieve medication for his wife. Since then, Hady is unable to leave his house even to retrieve medication from the pharmacy or to get food from the market. Hady’s wife could not even safely go to the hospital to give birth to their fifth child.
Even while living in hiding and under constant threat, Hady has never backed down from his human rights work as a translator and interpreter with organizations around the world.
Hady is a beloved member and community leader at Respond Crisis Translation. RCT stands with Hady and all persecuted Afghan translators in their pursuit of safety and justice.
We call on the UN to treat persecuted translators as human rights defenders worthy of urgent protection.
We call on the UN to rescue Hady before it is too late.
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“My family and I are in hiding; we can’t even turn on the lights. We can’t leave our house even to buy food or baby formula.
My only "crime" is serving as a humanitarian worker and refugee rights activist, helping vulnerable refugees. This is my life’s work, and it means I am a target under the current regime. If we are forcibly returned, I have no doubt that I would face arrest, persecution, and likely even death.
And yet, the humanitarian aid entities that I’ve worked for, have turned their backs on me and Afghans like me. I never stop fighting for the lives of Afghans and refugees — now, I humbly ask for your help to save mine.”
-Hady*