![]() “You see the light and the hope in their eyes, and it makes you think about how much suffering they must have gone through. “Talking with the kids has been the best experience for me,” Ghorbandi said. “I’m really happy that they’re here and safe with me,” he said. His four brothers, two sisters and parents came through the village. Sofizada had the unique opportunity to welcome his own family to Aman Omid Village. “It’s just been amazing seeing their faces and seeing the kids who are now getting a chance – especially since a lot of these kids are the age I was when I first came here.” ![]() “I get a lot of gratification from helping out people who I know are in the same situation I was in,” Ghorbandi said. The Airmen said they were excited to serve at Holloman and ease the transition of Afghan evacuees into their temporary home on base, dubbed Aman Omid Village. Both said the selfless service of the American forces in Afghanistan inspired them to enlist. Ghorbandi joined the Air Force Reserve in 2016. has given me a new life and I really enjoy living here, it would be a good idea to serve and actually wear the uniform,” he said. Sofizada immigrated to San Francisco in June 2009. I never felt they looked down on me, and I was treated like a soldier.” Once I earned it, I felt like I was part of a brotherhood. “It took me a while to earn their trust, because they were in a foreign country. “That’s what I learned from the Green Berets – to be selfless, always do the right thing and put your life on the line for others. “Those guys are really brave, and they were willing to sacrifice everything to keep our family safe,” Sofizada said. forces in Afghanistan as a translator and linguist. ![]() Sofizada would later learn English and help U.S. Sofizada and his family stayed in the Panjshir Valley until the occupation was over. If you were lucky, you would have bread.” “The supply routes were blocked off by the Taliban. “There were some days where you would go without food, and just try to find something like an apple or a mulberry,” Sofizada said. I remember looking out the window, and, as far as I could see, there were lights coming in behind us and going towards the northern part of Afghanistan just to run away from the Taliban.”Īfter arriving in the Panjshir Valley, which fell under the control of the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, he had to adjust to life during the reign of the Taliban. There was a big convoy of people – civilians just getting in their vehicles and trying to run away before the Taliban got to Kabul. ![]() It was around midnight that we started moving towards the Panjshir Valley. “We got onto a bus, and it was really overloaded. “We heard on the radio that the Taliban were taking Kabul City,” he said. In 2001, the Taliban controlled most of Afghanistan, which forced Sofizada and his family to flee their home in Kabul when he was a teenager. Sofizada’s journey to America began a little differently. It took me a good two years to be fully conversational.” I spent about a year and a half in English as a Second Language class. “When I came to the U.S., I knew very little English – just the basics. We were supposed to come in 2001, but after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, it got pushed back to 2004." “I was 8 years old when I moved to the U.S., and it was about a three- to four-year process. “I’m originally from Afghanistan in the Parwan Province,” Ghorbandi said. To escape the Taliban, Ghorbandi’s family began the immigration process to the United States in 2000. These Airmen have unique stories and their background puts them in a unique position to offer advice and encouragement to the thousands of refugees starting their lives anew. Airman First Class Ahmed Sofizada, joined in 2018 and is assigned to the 38th Intelligence Squadron, Beale Air Force Base, California.īoth are temporarily assigned to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, to support Operation Allies Welcome – the Department of Homeland Security-led effort to support vulnerable Afghans as they safely resettle in the United States. Senior Airman Kalmullah Ghobandi joined the Air Force Reserve in 2016 and is assigned to the 349th Air Mobility Wing, Travis Air Force Base, California. A pair of former Afghan translators, who are now Air Force Reserve Citizen Airmen, are assisting evacuees from Afghanistan settle into their new lives in the United States.
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