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[deleted] wrote (edited )

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cammie wrote

Just fyi, Afghani is the currency and Afghan is the demonym.

Where I'm from has a military with a bad history in Afghanistan too, so not sure I've got the disinterested point of view you're looking for, and I don't really know that much about the topic, but from what I do know I think it's a sad story for the poor interpreters.

They made a deal with the devil and they got left with a devastated country and a broken promise, and probably a bunch of neighbours who might not be too pleased with them for helping the yanks. So it's just shit all round it seems, but I do feel sorry for them. I remember stories from sympathetic USGIs years ago recounting how some of the interpreters where there to try and stop the soldiers from resorting to shooting for lack of ability to talk. The soldiers would get frustrated or scared when people wouldn't move the right way or follow the orders that they attempted to give in broken Farsi or Pashto, so they'd just start using violence. Apparently the interpreters felt obligated to be there to explain to people what the angry soldiers wanted so that less people would get hurt. I can't fault the interpreters for the call they made to help the USA, it's not like the USA was just going to leave, so if they wanted to try and mitigate any damage that's fair.

And of course if they believe they stand to benefit from a move away from a war-torn country to the USA, then they might want to take that offer even if the USA is part of the reason for the war in the first place.

I have a hard time faulting people for their stance on an ethical matter when they are just trying to survive. They were put in that position by the USA and Australia too, so the blame lies there foremost.

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Tequilx_Wolf wrote

I don't know they details, but it sounds like they sold out their people to imperialists for a greencard?

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[deleted] wrote

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loukanikos wrote

It's not the first time the military industrial complex did this either. A few years ago when I was in uni, I injured myself and was on crutches. I was living off campus and previously my means of transport was a bike. I was super behind in classes after and wanted to graduate in time so even though it was expensive I just started taking yellow cab to class every morning (this is before UberX). My cab driver 80% of time was this old afghan guy who after a while became really friendly with me. I think he basically knew I would be calling for rides and would hang out in the area.

After maybe six weeks of this we would talk about a lot of stuff, incl. my family, his family, etc. He told me he'd been living in the US since the Taliban first came to power, and that before 9/11, for over a decade he had a job doing translations for the government. But when 9/11 happened they audited all the Afghans' security clearances and many people lost them. Including my friend. So since then he'd been driving yellow cab. Anyways just sharing this story to confirm a long trend of American imperialists being assholes to people that helped them.

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loukanikos wrote

I don't disagree with your analysis but morally speaking I am extending them some sympathy because seems like coming up in Afghanistan would be pretty shit. You are basically between a rock and a hard place. The powers that be are basically: corrupt/inept government, radical religious right, imperialists. If you look at photos from the conflicts, you see Afghans on all sides fighting in leather dress shoes and sandals. I know a few Afghans who managed to emigrate to like India but I can't fault anybody for deciding to help the storm troopers. At least they might give you a pair of boots.

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