Afghan refugee describes his emotional journey to the United States after fleeing Kabul: “I left part of my family there”

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As an interpreter for US forces in Afghanistan, Selanee worked alongside Rodriguez when he was deployed to Kunar Province, helping countless US soldiers work with locals and navigate a dangerous region. In doing so, becoming a prime target for the Taliban as they took control of Afghanistan.

“They’ve already started going into the houses of the soldiers and looking for them, you know?

“Honestly, our soldiers were only serving their country, earning money to feed their families.

Although the Taliban have said they will do no harm to those working with foreign forces, revenge attacks have been reported; an interpreter was dragged out of his car and beheaded by Taliban militants in May, witnesses said. And while the Biden administration is committed to helping Afghans who worked for and on behalf of the U.S. government and military, Selanee’s frantic trip to the United States highlights the dangers facing visa applicants from special immigrant face when they leave Afghanistan.
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Selanee had started performing as a teenager, working with U.S. forces from 2007 to 2013, Rodriguez said. He then became a commando in an elite Afghan unit and reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

As the Taliban swept through Afghanistan this month, taking city after city, Selanee fought alongside his men as commander in Kandahar before retreating with his forces and heading to Kabul airport, where they helped US forces secure the perimeter.

At the airport, he was reunited with his family, including his wife, a younger brother and five children. They took an evacuation flight to Qatar, with the intention of then going to Germany before heading to the United States.

“I don’t know where they are taking us next. To be honest sir, we have no idea what’s going on the next day, you know? he told CNN from the hangar in Qatar that his family shared with dozens of other evacuees.

Rather than fly to Germany, the Selanee family were put on a flight to Washington. To tell Rodriguez where they were going, a flight attendant wrote it on a napkin for him: “Washington DC USA, Airport: IAD.”

Rodriguez immediately bought a ticket and flew out of Seattle, trying to track Selanee’s progress with the messages they were exchanging on WhatsApp. Selanee told Rodriguez they were being held, that his wife and son had been taken to a hospital in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Twenty-four hours after Selanee arrived, Rodriguez learned that the family had been moved to a temporary accommodation center near Dulles airport.

“This guy is special for a number of reasons. Look, all these people went through hell and came back from it. But this guy is special because he is fiercely loyal to Americans,” Rodriguez said. “And then him, and then he went, you know, to command, probably the most elite special operations unit in all of Afghanistan.”

Rodriguez bought Selanee – who is currently being treated in Fort Lee, Va. – new clothes and a phone as he begins his life in the country he has helped in Afghanistan for years.

But his new life in the United States weighs on his concerns for the members of his family who did not make it out.

Almost all of the countries involved in the evacuation efforts – Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain, Italy and more – have ended their operations and withdrew from the country. The last US military planes left Kabul on Monday, marking the total withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

“I am happy because I am safe here with my family,” said Selanee. “But I’m still unhappy because I left part of my family there.”

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