Afghan interpreters demand promised US visas --- KABUL, Afghanistan — Distinguishing which coalition force the 30 or so Afghan interpreters protesting outside the U.S. embassy in Kabul had worked for was not difficult. -- Sayeed Razawi had an American accent, laced with a southern twang, while Fridoon Abrahamkhil spoke perfect British English. -- The young men, who had gathered to protest against not receiving visas they had been promised, acquired their signature accents from the troops they served under in the country's most volatile regions such as the southern Helmand or Kandahar provinces. -- Besides learning to speak English well, the interpreters had been well-paid and had learned other skills during their stints working for the troops, including weapons training, emergency medical skills, and how to negotiate successfully. -- Above all, though, they were promised visas to the U.S. under the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, designed for those who have supported the U.S. war effort. -- However, for those who gathered recently to protest, and thousands of others, the visas never came. And they are growing anxious as insecurity continues to plague the country and as allied troops hand over to the Afghan army and police. -- "They have trusted us with their weapons and their missions. We have worked with them on their bases," said Razawi, who worked with U.S. troops for almost nine years and has been waiting to obtain his visa for four. -- "And now – after they have decided to leave us – they find out that we are bad guys." --- Blacklisted -- In 2009, the Afghan Allies Protection Act allocated 7,500 visas for Afghans employed by the U.S. government, the majority as military interpreters. But, by 2011, the U.S. embassy in Kabul had not processed a single visa. -- After a slow start, the U.S. gradually speeded up the process – only last year did the interpreters start seeing a significant increase in cases processed. -- However, new cases tended to process faster than the old, backlogged ones, leaving behind many of those waiting the longest. -- "Yeah," another chimed in, this one wearing a mask to conceal his identity for fear of reprisals. "These guys couldn't have done anything in this country without us." -- Razawi and others say they were placed on a blacklist after failing an intelligence screening that Afghans must undergo every six months in the course of their jobs. -- "If you miss one question, you fail. Then they put you on a blacklist or watch list and you lose your job with them and the visa, making it very difficult to find work anywhere in Afghanistan," said Ehsanullah, another interpreter. "I think they make excuses because they can't take everyone to the U.S." -- Read More, Bethany Matta, http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/10/1/afghan-translatorsprotest.html