REVISED Afghan Interpreter Follow Up -- USAGM
Metadata
- REVISED Afghan Interpreter Follow Up -- USAGM
- April 13, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script Afghan Interpreter Follow Up HEADLINE: After 20 Years, US Army Officer Reunites with Afghan Interpreter TEASER: The interpreter and his family of six traveled through Germany, to New Jersey, to Florida PUBLISHED AT: 4/12/2022 at 8 p.m. BYLINE: Kane Farabaugh CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: Clearwater, Florida VIDEOGRAPHER: Kane Farabaugh PRODUCER: Kane Farabaugh SCRIPT EDITORS: Bowman, Holly Franko VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __ TRT: 4:38 VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen TYPE: EDITOR NOTES: )) ((INTRODUCTION)) [[Since America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan last year, current and former U.S. servicemembers have waged lengthy campaigns to get their onetime Afghan interpreters to safety. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh, who reported from Afghanistan for the U.S. military in 2002, followed up with a retired U.S. Army officer whose persistence led to an emotional reunion.]] ((NARRATOR)) I first met Bryan Cole on a windswept mountain slope in rural Afghanistan in 2002, working with his Afghan interpreter, “Hyadet,” to deliver school supplies and food to local villagers. ((Charles Bryan Cole)) ((cg: 2002)) 01:25 “We’re serving as a stop gap until the nongovernmental organizations get here.” ((NARRATOR)) Nearly 20 years after we met, I located Cole in Kentucky, where he was working as a park ranger after retiring from the military. Last July, he was closely watching the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Cole said he had no regrets about his service in Afghanistan – except one. He’d lost touch with Hyadet. ((Charles Bryan Cole, Kentucky Park Ranger)) “I’m hoping I can track him down.” KANE: “Why” COLE: *emotional* - “Oh I loved him…. I mean…” ((NARRATOR)) ((Courtesy: DoD)) Cole credits Hyadet with saving his soldiers’ lives in many dangerous situations. ((Charles Bryan Cole, Kentucky Park Ranger)) “KANE: “What will you do if you can get him here? “ COLE: *emotional* - *pause* - “… give him a place to live.” KANE: “How do you think he would appreciate that? “ COLE: *emotional* - “Oh he’d love it. We talked about that. Coming to the United States.” ((NARRATOR)) Around the same time last year, U.S. Army Brigadier General Michael Greer watched the news at Kabul’s airport amid the U.S. withdrawal. He was concerned about the fate of the Afghan translator named “Hedayat” who worked with him during a 2004-2005 deployment. ((Brigadier General Michael Greer, US Army)) ((Skype)) 13:44 “One evening I saw a news report that the Taliban were going to stop allowing people to come to the airport. So I texted Hedayat, and told him to go to the airport immediately, to take the letters that he had and show the letters to an American. He didn’t respond to that text.” ((NARRATOR)) That’s because Hedayat – whose full name is Hedayatullah Hesari – and his family of six – were desperately trying to enter the Kabul airport, which was guarded by U.S. Marines. ((Hedayatullah Hesari, Former Translator)) 02:58:53 “I asked one of the U.S. soldiers, and I told him – you need help? He asked can you speak English, I told him I was an interpreter and I used to work with the U.S. Army for nine years.” ((NARRATOR)) Amid the crush of thousands of Afghans trying to flee the country, the Marines accepted Hesari’s help. ((Hedayatullah Hesari, Former Translator)) 02:59:20 “I did the interpretation for five hours. Finally, I asked one of the captains, he was the leader of those soldiers, I told him I used to work with the U.S. Army, please help me.” ((NARRATOR)) Just inches away from safety, Hesari made a final, desperate phone call to Greer. ((Brigadier General Michael Greer, U.S. Army)) ((Skype)) 14:10 “I woke up to the phone ringing, and the Caller ID was an Afghan number. I could hear crowd noise, I could hear background static, and then the call dropped. And then almost immediately, the phone rang again, and it was Hedayat, in that broken English, he said, ‘I’m at the gate.’” ((NARRATOR)) Hedayat gave the phone to a nearby U.S. Marine. ((Brigadier General Michael Greer, U.S. Army)) ((Skype)) 14:50 “I identified myself and told the Marine that Hedayat had a letter from me and that he was who he said he was. The Marine said, I got it … then the call ended.” ((NARRATOR)) It took two more days before Hesari texted Greer to confirm they were safely inside the airport. Over the next months, the Hesari family processed through Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and Fort Dix, New Jersey, before arriving in Clearwater, Florida, in March. The process to obtain a Special Immigrant Visa or SIV – which Hesari was initially denied – has complicated their journey. In December, an immigration attorney working on his appeal tracked down Brian Cole, wondering if he was the same army officer who worked with Hedayatulloh Hesari seen in this footage in 2002. The man Greer knew as “Hedayat” was the actually the same translator Cole had been desperately searching for, the man he fondly referred to as “Hyadet.” ((NARRATOR)) Both Cole and Greer are now helping Hesari complete the visa process. ((NATURAL SOUND)) 02:33:48 “Hey Hyadet, yeah, I’m in your parking lot … I’m trying to figure out which is your building … “ HYADET: “Yeah … yeah … I’m behind you …” COLE: “Oh man … hey!” ((NARRATOR)) After being separated for nearly 20 years, and after months of agonizing uncertainty, Cole made the eleven-hour drive from Kentucky to Florida for a long-overdue reunion. ((NATURAL SOUND)) “Oh man … it’s great to see you. Good to see you. Boy it’s sure been a struggle.” Hyadet - “Yeah, long time.” [[BEGIN OPT]] ((Charles Bryan Cole, Kentucky Park Ranger)) ((Picture dissolve from 2002 to 2022)) 3:36:25 “When we worked together in Afghanistan in 2002, his son was the same age – about six months old – as my daughter was when I was there, so it’s kind of neat to see him now as a 20-year-old grown man.” [[END OPT]] ((Hedayatullah Hesari, Former Translator)) 2:52:30 “It’s after twenty years, we meet here, and I am very happy … it’s a long time. He’s my best friend.” ((NARRATOR)) A friendship forged in war decades ago that endures today as Hesari begins a new life in the country of those he once served and protected. [[BEGIN OPT]] ((Charles Bryan Cole, Kentucky Park Ranger)) 02:08:36 “I think he’s more honorable than about anybody I’ve ever met or worked with.” Kane Farabaugh, VOA News, Clearwater, Florida
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Location (dateline) Clearwater, Florida
- Embargo Date April 13, 2022 17:20 EDT
- Byline Kane Farabaugh, VOA News, Clearwater, Florida.
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English