Press Release

 

 

For Immediate Release
Contact: Dan Gordon , 617-651-0841
June 10, 2021

**National**

**Security Expert, SIV Recipients Underscore Need to Protect Afghan
Allies**

**A recording of today's press call is available here**

**.**

**WASHINGTON, D.C.**- The Biden administration must act urgently to
protect Afghan nationals who have worked alongside the U.S. military and
government, speakers said on a press call today.

The call, co-hosted by the Forum and Upwardly Global, included a
national security expert and Afghanistan veteran, and two Afghan Special
Immigrant Visa (SIV) recipients who have resettled in the U.S.

Their stories highlight the need for an evacuation plan for Afghans,
including SIV applicants and others who are eligible, who have assisted
the U.S. in matters military and civilian. The withdrawal of U.S. troops
is scheduled to be complete by September and could finish as early as
July.

The following are quotes from speakers on today's call:

**Rick "Ozzie" Nelson,**

**Former Director, Office of Combating Terrorism, National Security
Council Staff under President George W. Bush; U.S. Navy helicopter pilot
and Afghanistan veteran:**"The Biden administration needs to roll out
and begin implementing a plan to protect our Afghan allies right away.
We are looking for them to produce a strategy. As a veteran of the war
in Afghanistan, I know how critical Afghan nationals were and are as
allies and partners. As a counterterrorism expert, I understand what's
at stake if we fail to live up to our promises."

**Abdul**,

**Afghan SIV recipient resettled in Virginia:**"I worked on a project
that cultivated the culture of social interaction using a digital
platform, especially among women, boys and girls. These kinds of
projects gave me, and many people, a lot of hope. But insurgent groups
did not want these projects to succeed. ... We need to protect and
support the thousands of people who worked shoulder to shoulder with
American soldiers and also on civilian projects and are still waiting
for their visas. Those who are still in Afghanistan and are waiting for
their cases to be processed - I know how difficult it is for them.
Especially now, with U.S. troops withdrawing, anxiety has increased."

****

**Seeta, Afghan SIV recipient resettled in Tennessee:**"As a journalist
in Afghanistan, I shared the positive impacts of the U.S. presence
there. My reporting made me a target of the Taliban. They threatened to
kill me and my father. I had to move several times inside Afghanistan,
and at one point I wore a burqa for my own safety. Still I continued to
work until the threat to our safety and lives became too great. I know
the risk is very high for people like me who have worked to support U.S.
government. It's very important that the U.S. government protect these
people too."

**Jennie Murray, Vice President of Programs, Upwardly Global:**"SIV
recipients are heroes, having served shoulder to shoulder with U.S.
troops in conflict and supported our allied efforts on civilian projects
in both Afghanistan and Iraq. It is our honor as an organization to be
able to support these professionals as they rebuild lives and careers in
the U.S."

**Dan Gordon, Vice President of Strategic Communications, National
Immigration Forum:**"The threat to the lives of our Afghan allies and
their families is real, and the clock is ticking. The president should
commit to and immediately begin to implement a plan to evacuate people
who are eligible for Special Immigrant Visas. Keeping our promise to
those who helped us also offers the president an opportunity to act on
something with strong bipartisan support, in Congress and beyond."

###

 

 

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