Afghan interpreter hunted by Taliban safe after campaign by retired brigadier-general in Newfoundland
CBC
After more than two years of evading the Taliban — and a dogged campaign led by retired Canadian military members urging the federal government to keep its promise — Afghan interpreter Mohammad Arif Yousafi is safe in Alberta.
"Finally we get into Canada. We arrived in Canada. So we are happy," he said.
Yousafi, his wife and three children were brought to Medicine Hat earlier this month.
He fought long and hard to escape Afghanistan after working as an interpreter with the Canadian military in many parts of the country or six years.
Yousafi — whom CBC News referred to in previous stories simply as "Joe" to protect his identity — says he did it because he believed in what NATO forces were doing in Afghanistan.
"I wanted to do something for my country and help the Canadians. They were there to bring peace in Afghanistan and take care of Afghans, opening schools, colleges, and all the facilities for Afghans," said Yousafi.
But they faced violent opposition from the Taliban, the group that now controls Afghanistan and has been condemned by many countries for denying human rights, including the rights of women and girls to education and work.
As retribution for helping the Canadian military, the Taliban tried to assassinate Yousafi. He was shot in the leg in October 2010 and hospitalized, he said.
"First they sent me threatening letters and then they attacked me," he said.
He went back to work with a construction company he co-owned, building concrete barriers for checkpoints and operating well-digging machinery.
But after NATO forces pulled out of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban took control of Kabul and began looking for Yousafi again.
"The Taliban killed my partner. He was trying to work and get projects but we lost everything," he said.
The company lost its materials and equipment, including a machine digs water wells that they paid $275,000 US for, he said.
Soon the Taliban was on Yousafi's doorstep too.
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