Thousands of Afghan evacuees housed at US military base in Germany on their way to new life



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The US military scrambles to treat approximately 8,000 Afghan citizens at a US air base in Germany. For Afghans, this is the first step on the journey to a new life, far from home.

At Ramstein Air Force Base, the U.S. military is doing their best to feed, care for, and entertain thousands of evacuees from Afghanistan.

“All of their belongings could be a plastic shopping bag. It definitely helps put things in perspective,” Lt. Col. Simon Ritchie said.

“This is just a step for the Afghan evacuees,” he said. “They will stay here for a few days before flying away elsewhere – most likely to the United States – to start a new life.”

Rahmat Safari worked as an interpreter for US Special Forces. He said if he didn’t get out of the country, the Taliban “was going to kill me right away.”

He said his family owed their lives to a former Green Beret who became a friend.

“His name is Greg Adams,” Safari said. “He’s back in the United States. He helped us a lot.

Major Greg Adams is now a civilian. From his home in Seattle, he remotely guided Safari and other Afghan interpreters through the chaos at Kabul airport using text messages. He said Safari and other translators kept him alive while he was in Afghanistan.

“This is what we know, and this is why we are working so hard right now to take care of them,” Adams said.

Adams risked his life to fight the Taliban and says America now has a moral obligation to the Afghans who helped.

“I don’t necessarily question the decision to leave,” he said. “I think we could have done a much better job of planning this and getting people out.”

More than 800 Afghans have already left Germany for the United States. Safari told CBS News his ambition now is to find work and have a peaceful life, he hopes in Sacramento.

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