An Afghan interpreter shot by the Taliban may soon be coming to Canada, after a 2-year fight to help him

There’s been a big leap forward in a Newfoundland man’s campaign to bring an imperiled Afghan interpreter to safety.

This summer, after years of silence, federal officials sent the interpreter, whom CBC News is calling “Joe” for his protection, an invitation to apply to come to Canada.

Joe has been hunted and shot in Afghanistan for helping NATO forces while they were there.

For two years, Maddox Cove resident and retired Canadian Forces brigadier-general James Camsell has been working tirelessly, raising money for Joe, writing and phoning federal officials and politicians on his behalf.

Camsell, who feared his calls for help were being ignored, said he’s “ecstatic” about the news.

When Afghanistan fell two years ago, they started actively looking for him and if he had been arrested, he would have been killed. – James Camsell

“He’s actually dealing with Immigration Canada now … unlike the last two years,” he said.

The Taliban consider working for coalition forces treason, leaving interpreters at great risk, which means Canada owes interpreters a huge debt, says Camsell. He said it’s unconscionable for Canada to abandon Afghan nationals like Joe and his family.

“We have a moral obligation to him. You know, he shed blood for this country. He was wounded. Other interpreters, journalists have been killed over there. So the government needs to do work to get them out,” said Camsell.

CBC News contacted Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada about Joe’s case.

The department did not address specific details.

“Canada continues to make progress in its efforts to resettle at least 40,000 vulnerable Afghans to Canada by the end of the year and we will continue to be flexible in our approach to the situation in Afghanistan,” the department said in a statement.

Camsell worked with Joe in Kandahar Province in 2008-09.

“When I was there he was receiving what were called night letters or warnings nailed to his compound where he lived with his family, saying, ‘Stop helping the Canadians or we will kill you,'” he said.

“In 2010, they tried to assassinate him and shot him through the legs as he was driving home. And when Afghanistan fell two years ago, they started actively looking for him, and if he had been arrested, he would have been killed.”

Camsell helped train the Afghan National Army in Kandahar province, travelling on operations with them and working to offer safe education for girls. Camsell says those efforts wouldn’t have been possible without interpreters like Joe.

They were more than co-workers, he said.

“He became a close friend of mine. Without interpreters in Afghanistan operations wouldn’t occur, because they know the local customs,” he said. Interpreters often serve as the sole link between Canadian and Afghan military staff, who often didn’t speak the same language, he said.

Joe’s life became more difficult when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 after NATO forces pulled out.

Hunted by the Taliban: An interpreter helps NATO forces, puts life on the line

James Camsell, a retired Canadian Forces brigadier-general and Maddox Cove resident, has been working to bring his former interpreter to Canada. The Taliban consider working for coalition forces treason, leaving interpreters at great risk.

In September 2021, Camsell put CBC News in contact with Joe in Kabul, through a video call in which Joe described the increasing danger to him and his family under Taliban rule.

“They are the government of Afghanistan but they cannot feed themselves. They don’t have food. They don’t have money for themselves. How are they going to run the government?” Joe said, upbeat in spite of his situation.

“Everybody is trying to get out of Afghanistan because their kids, their wives, their families want food, everything — all the facilities — from the Taliban, but they cannot provide it.”

Joe also said he was constantly moving and hiding to avoid the Taliban.

“I’m not staying in one location more than two or three hours. Three times they came to my house. They are asking, ‘Where is he? We want to talk with him. We want to give him a job.’ They are making excuses. After that, they are making a target,” he said.

Last winter, Joe escaped to Pakistan with his family.

“There is a lot of relief on our end that he is out of Afghanistan and safe with his family, but he can’t work in Pakistan and he is on a temporary visa,” said Camsell.

“He and his family are being treated terribly as are many Afghan refugees in Pakistan. So we are trying to get some money to him and looking for people to help us fund him to survive there with his family.”

Camsell now expects that Joe and some of his family members will come to Canada in the next three to six months.

Canada’s commitment

In 2021, the federal government promised to take in 40,000 Afghans.

“I think Canada has been slow on this,” said Camsell.

“I understand that this is a complex issue and there are a lot of troubles around the world, like Ukraine, but these individuals certainly deserved more focus on getting them to Canada.”

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in a statement last week that more than 37,000 applications have been accepted.

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