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Afghan interpreter who once helped save Biden from Taliban, pleads US for evacuation

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 02 Sep 2021

Afghan interpreter who once helped save Biden from Taliban, pleads US for evacuation

Image: White House

An Afghan interpreter, who had helped rescue US President Joe Biden in a 2008 Afghan snowstorm, has now made an appeal to save him and his family, according to the Wall Street Journal.

He is in hiding after he could not make it to the Kabul evacuation airlift, according to the report.

Then senator Biden and two other senior lawmakers, Chuck Hagel and John Kerry, were forced to land in a remote area in Afghanistan due to a snowstorm.

The interpreter, who has been referred to as "Mohammed" to protect his identity, was working for the US Army at the time, taking part in combat missions.

Mohammed was part of a small military Quick Reaction Force which drove from Bagram airbase into the mountains to rescue the trio amid fears of being at risk from Taliban.

Thirteen years later, the Afghan interpreter could not have his application to emigrate to the Untied States processed in time for evacuation and was forced to stay back as the Taliban seized power.

"Hello Mr. President: Save me and my family," he told the Journal on Monday, the day of the final flights of the two-week emergency evacuation.

"Don't forget me here."

Mohammed along with his family of wife and four children are staying in hiding, fearing persecution by the Taliban, the report said.

On Tuesday White House press secretary Jen Psaki, in a statement, said that the United States wanted to help him.

"Our message to him is thank you for fighting by our side in the last 20 years," she told reporters, according to AFP.