Day 1,819 - Abdul's Story

The Man at the Gate

Abdul's Story

There is no single dramatic day in Abdul's story, and that absence is the story. 

Other allies can point to a warning that stopped an attack or a mission that went wrong. Abdul's service did not work that way. 

From late 2010 to the end of 2012, he was an ASG guard at an American forward operating base in eastern Afghanistan, employed through an Afghan security company contracted to the U.S. Army. The work was maintaining the perimeter, ensuring the security of the base. It was the control of people and vehicles at the perimeter’s edge and the protection of the American forces inside. Whoever approached that base approached Abdul first. Every morning he reported for duty on time, and nothing happened, and nothing happening was the achievement. 

His supervisor gave the guards one standing instruction. "We were told to do our work with honesty, responsibility, and full care," he said. He has always kept it word for word. "I am proud that for the entire length of my duty I served alongside American forces with loyalty and honesty." 

Not one single day or event. Abdul is proud of all of them together.

The men who guard American bases are remembered by the wrong people. When Kabul fell the threat to Abdul’s family became more serious, the airport was unreachable in the disorder, and Abdul brought his wife and children across the border to Pakistan. Some of his relatives remain in Afghanistan. He will say nothing more about them, for their safety, and the refusal tells you what the stakes are better than any details could.

His case is finished business that will not finish. Every document submitted, the interview completed, everything on his side done, and the case not finalized, held inside the suspension of visa issuance for Afghans. 

He follows up on it steadily, every day, the way he once kept his post. He follows up on it between meeting his family's needs and worrying about his children's future. The children want to study, but the circumstances resist. The money is short, and the fear of deportation does not lift. 

He still keeps his employment verification letter and his work papers, proof of service and a matter of pride. Assistance from No One Left Behind, he said, "has helped us keep going in hard conditions. My family and I will always remain grateful to you."

For two years, Abdul decided who passed through an American gate, and the soldiers behind his watch slept safely. Now he stands at a gate himself, papers in order, waiting. He is asking the country he guarded to check carefully, and then open the gate for those who are committed to the United States. It’s what he did every morning, from 2010 to 2012, without fail.

"Some people think our problem is only a visa matter, but the truth is that it is a matter of our lives and our family's safety," he said. His request to the U.S. is simple, as he asks only for "practical steps toward the faster processing of Afghan SIV cases."

He asks for steps, not speeches.

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