Afghan interpreter hunted by Taliban safe after campaign by retired brigadier-general in Newfoundland

March 27, 2024 Canuck

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.

Two men wearing helmets and military uniforms sit inside a military patrol vehicle — James Camsell, now a retired brigadier-general, and Yousafi are pictured in a patrol vehicle in Afghanistan in 2008. (Submitted by James Camsell)

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.

A certificate including text, signatures from military officials and images of a middle aged man, a Canadian flag and an Afghanistan flag. — The Canadian military presented Yousafi with numerous certificates of appreciation for the work he did to help it in Afghanistan. (Submitted by Mohammad Arif Yousafi)

“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.

WATCH | Mark Quinn reports on how a man once known just as ‘Joe’ is now living in Canada:

He was hunted by the Taliban but is now safe in Canada

8 hours ago

Duration 3:47

Mohammad Arif Yousafi was a translator who helped NATO forces in Afghanistan. Thanks to the efforts of a retired military official in Newfoundland and Labrador, he is now in Canada. Earlier this month, Yousafi and his wife and three children were brought to Alberta.

Soon the Taliban was on Yousafi’s doorstep too.

“They attacked our house. They had my address but I was not there. I was in my office. I was in hiding because I understood that they were trying to find people who worked with the coalition forces,” he said.

“Life was very tough for us in Afghanistan. We went into hiding … myself, my family, my brothers, their families. Fourteen times we changed our location in Kabul.”

In 2021, the federal government promised to bring up to 40,000 Afghanis who assisted Canada to safety, but they weren’t acting quickly enough for Yousafi, who reached out to his friend and colleague retired Canadian brigadier-general James Camsell.

Two men one in a Candian military uniform, the other in traditional Afghan dress, stand side by side in a classroom. — Camsell and Yousafi are pictured together in Afghanistan in 2008. (Submitted by James Camsell)

Camsell, who lives in Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove, about 15 kilometres from St. John’s, hadn’t forgotten his friend Yousafi and the work he did to help him safely navigate troubles in Afghanistan.

“We owe him,” he said. “He kept Canadians alive.”

Camsell and his colleague, retired lieutenant-colonel Christine Carignan — who had also worked with Yousafi in Afghanistan —� launched a campaign to get their former interpreter to Canada.

A woman in a Canadian military uniform sits with an Afghan man in his country's traditional clothes. — Christine Carignan, now a retired lieutenant-colonel, also worked with Yousafi in Afghanistan. (Submitted by Mohammad Arif Yousafi)

They reached out to contacts in Afghanistan and phoned, wrote and emailed every federal and local politician or bureaucrat they could think of.

There were times when they feared Yousafi would never get out.

“It was long and challenging to deal with,” said Camsell. “I get it that in 2021 it was a program that had just been put together but in Year 2 you’d think the program would have moved more smoothly.”

Yousafi and four family members are out, but he says the job’s not done yet.

“This is my request to the Canadian government, to the defence minister, to accept my brothers’s application, at least for now, only my two brothers with their family. They are not like 50 people, only six people, three children, three adults,” said Yousafi.

A group of four people stand next to a Toyota car with a Canadian flag licence plate. They are standing in front of a McDonald's restaurant. — Yousafi and three of his family members are now in Medicine Hat, Alta. Under the special federal immigration program established for Afghans who helped Canada, they are all permanent residents. (Submitted by Mohammad Arif Yousafi)

His brothers and their families have made the dangerous journey across Afghanistan to Pakistan. They are living in abject poverty but can’t go back, he said.

“If they go to Afghanistan, the Taliban will kill them. If they stay in Pakistan, starvation and hunger should kill them,” he said.

Yousafi says Ottawa must rescue others left behind, like his brothers, who’ve been targeted for the work he did for Canada.

In an emailed statement to CBC News, federal officials say they can’t comment on specific cases but added Canada has brought more than 49,000 people from Afghanistan since 2021. Jeffrey MacDonald, spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, says federal officials will continue to process eligible applications.

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Afghan interpreter hunted by Taliban safe after campaign by retired brigadier-general in Newfoundland

He was hunted by the Taliban but is now safe in Canada

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