Help rescue Afghan Interpreter

My name is Steven Bahia. I am a U.S. military veteran. I am raising money to help my Afghan friend (pictured above with my platoon and his face blurred) escape the Taliban.

I deployed to Herat Province, Afghanistan in 2014 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom to provide security for NATO-ISAF forces in the area. Our lead interpreter "Sammy" helped my unit navigate the complex human terrain that is Afghanistan. When we would conduct missions in enemy strongholds, Sammy always volunteered to come with us on these dangerous missions. We never even had to ask. Sammy spent 5 years in combat in support of the U.S. military and has undoubtedly saved American lives by identifying potential threats that only a local could see. Although interpreters were not issued weapons, we trusted Sammy so much that we would give him a weapon when we conducted extremely dangerous operations.

Sammy kept a massive U.S. flag in his tent and had faith that America would not let him down. However, our government has failed to process his case quickly enough and the Taliban is preventing Afghans from entering the Kabul airport to reach an evacuation flight.

Already, the Taliban has started killing and beheading Afghan interpreters who cooperated with U.S. forces and murdering their families.

I am raising money to support Sammy while he awaits his visa process outside of Afghanistan and to purchase one-way flights to the United States once his visa is granted.

Your support is greatly appreciated.