Posted
Update
Four months ago, thousands of people threatened by the Taliban fled Afghanistan. Among them, many translators, who risked their lives alongside French soldiers. A family with their two young children, who left to visit relatives this summer, was finally able to return to France.
Great relief for the mayor of Laon (Aisne), Eric Delhaye, and his wife: an Afghan family, who has lived in the town for five years, has finally returned home. She hid around Kabul (Afghanistan) for four months in order to escape the Taliban. “When we got here, the kids were sleeping in the car. I told them, ‘That’s it, we’ve arrived’. They were in shock. They were too happy.”, says Nasir Wahdad, Afghan translator for the French army.
Having become a welder in France, Nasir returned to Afghanistan during the summer with his family, to see his sick father. He was surprised by the sudden arrival of the Taliban. Deemed to be non-priority, and with little money, the couple and the children were not repatriated. Yet their lives were in danger. “You are guilty in our eyes, because you worked as an interpreter”, wrote the Taliban in a letter.
The Wahdad family then embarked on a dangerous journey through the country, hiding with relatives and moving regularly. For their part, the mayor and his wife, a teacher, struggled to bring them back. The Quai d’Orsay finally repatriated Nasir Wahdad and his family a few days ago, with visas. Since 2016, Laon has welcomed around fifteen translators from the French army.