Still in hiding: one Iraqi translator’s story

Still in hiding: one Iraqi translator’s story
An Iraqi translator questions a man about a pipeline fire while U.S. Army Sgt. Jason Johnston looks on outside Baqouba, Iraq. AP/Jacob Silberberg
Still in hiding: one Iraqi translator’s story
An Iraqi translator questions a man about a pipeline fire while U.S. Army Sgt. Jason Johnston looks on outside Baqouba, Iraq. AP/Jacob Silberberg

Still in hiding: one Iraqi translator’s story

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“Sam” does not want to be identified by his real name. He was an Iraqi translator who worked with the U.S. Army’s 1st Armored Division and with American trainers at the Baghdad Police Academy. In 2007, he was kidnapped and tortured. He fled Iraq and spent three years in Sweden until he was deported earlier this year.  He’s currently in hiding in Iraq.

“Sam” applied for and was denied a Special Immigrant Visa or SIV. It’s the U.S. government program that’s supposed to help resettle people in “Sam’s” situation. He’s working with The List Project  to try to find a safe home in another country.