USMC Interpreter Immigrating to US

Mir Aqa Karimi, affectionately known as "Saber", was the head interpreter for the men of the Embedded Adviser Team (RCT 8 ETT). Stationed in Delaram, Afghanistan on the border of Nimruz and Helmand provinces in Southern Afghanistan, the team of 15 Marines and 2 Sailors worked, lived, trained, and fought alongside the men of the 2d Brigade, 215th Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) for more than a year in January of 2011 through January of 2012.

It should come as no surprise that the Marines and Sailors in the ETT spoke almost no Dari (the primary spoken language of the Afghan National Army) or Pashtu (the primary spoken language of the residents of Nimruz and Helmand provinces) prior to their arrival in theater. For this reason, it was essential to their jobs, and indeed their fighting capacity, to have intelligent, diligent, and hard working interpreters who would not only translate what the ANA and local residents were saying, but to provide clear, concise and precise translation. Saber not only performed incredibly well in this essential task, but he also served as a practical intelligence source for the Marines. "He is not being truthful" or "He is just trying to get out of work" or "He would be a lot more receptive if you took your sunglasses off" helped the Marines and Sailors to make important inroads with both the soldiers they were advising, and the civilians they were responsible for protecting.

Saber's work as a translator wasn't limited to the safety and security of Marine Camps or Army forts. As part of the Marines' and Sailors' work stabilizing the community, Saber went where the Marines went. That meant not only traveling in hostile territory, but doing so while totally unarmed. Saber was in two separate vehicles that were struck by an IED (one of which knocked him unconscious) and was shot at innumerable times. Despite all of these hardships, he never once complained (or at least not more than the Marines and Sailors he lived with) and never refused to go on future assignments, no matter the danger. This was in stark contrast to many of the other interpreters who worked with the ETT.

After a year, the Marines of the ETT, RCT 8 left Delaram Afghanistan. But Saber stayed. In all, he served with Marines and US Army soldiers, providing translation services for more than five years. For his services, he faced intense scrutiny from many friends, family, and most troubling, the Taliban. Saber was required to hide his profession from the world, and risked endangering not only himself, but his family, if his support for the United States and its coalition partners were discovered. Despite all of the threats, Saber stayed loyal to our great nation, and patiently, diligently, and lawfully applied for a special immigration visa. After nearly four years of bureaucratic paperwork, interviews, submitting forms in triplicate, a call to one team member's congressman, and hundreds of hours of frustration, despair, and hopelessness, Saber was granted his special immigration visa to the United States. He is coming to America!

Although Saber his coming to Houston, and is being assisted one one member of ETT 8 during his transition, he desperately needs financial assistance as he begins his life anew in the United States. The only items he is bringing from home is what can be checked on a one-way ticket on a commercial jetliner. His needs include living expenses in his new home, the cost of learning to drive, acquiring a license, and purchasing a car. He will need a cellphone, clothing, toiletries, and other mundane essentials. He will also need job-related skills training, and begin saving for the future arrival of his wife and daughter. Saber doesn't know how much money he'll need before he will be up on his own two feet, but the cost of a single one-way flight from Kabul to Houston is over $1,500. Whatever you can do will certainly help.

Saber has been an ally of the United States, the United States Marine Corps, and the members of ETT 8 for more than a half-decade. He is precisely the kind of man we need more of in America: a living embodiment of the American dream. His hope is to come to our great nation, and make a life better for his wife and young daughter. His sacrifices are not without equal, but few could classify them as anything other than tremendous. Please help Saber start his new life, in whatever amount you can.