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14 FEATURES and the LEIs are left to fend for themselves. The nations and organisations that have employed the LEIs, even if through a contractor, should recognise it as their moral duty to provide post-operational safety arrangements and commit themselves to a contractual duty of care. They must accept the ultimate responsibility for the people who have risked their lives and sometimes the lives of family members. In few cases, financial compensation or new professional opportunities might be an option; even rarer will be instances where relocation to a 'safe' area is possible, as they will stick out like aliens in unfamiliar territory. Ministries of Defence and international organisations ought to make it a priority to provide resettlement programmes for LEIs whose lives are threatened, or whose further existence in their home country is impossible. Identification of LEIs at border hotspots should be possible, and resettlement in the country of their employer effectuated. LEIs, who usually make it to the EU with the help of people smugglers, often arrive in the 'wrong' country or find themselves stuck at the border in no man's land. Ruling that it is safe for an Afghan interpreter who has worked with foreign armed forces to return to Kabul, calling it a 'safe' place, beggars belief. In 2010, Abdul Ghafoor Ahmadzai – one of around 120 interpreters who worked for the Dutch forces in Uruzgan in 2006-2010 – fled Afghanistan after his brother was mistaken for him and killed. He got to the Netherlands via Norway but the judge in Roermond ruled that the Dublin regulations (on refugees claiming asylum in the first country of arrival) applied, regardless of the fact that he had worked for the Dutch army. In Norway, his asylum application was rejected because he had not worked for Norway. 4 Under political and media pressure, the Dutch government eventually granted Ahmadzai a residence visa in 2015, but others are not so fortunate. In 2016, Nangyalai Dawoodzai, a former interpreter who worked for the British Army in Afghanistan, committed suicide in Birmingham after being told that his asylum application would be rejected because he had been fingerprinted in Italy on arrival in Europe. 5 No one denies the practical problems surrounding the immigration arrangements for LEIs. There is the length of employment, maybe complex personal relations (e.g. dependants, multiple marriages) and security implications to consider. Nonetheless, the first responsibility ought to be one of fairness to the people who served. Once this humane position is accepted, a follow-up support network is needed, given the history of trauma and suicide among LEIs. Measures to secure appropriate employment – and future strategic needs – suggest that it does not make sense to waste the linguistic and other skills of LEIs by seeing them employed as dishwashers or pizza delivery boys. It is necessary to implement much more generous special immigrant visa programmes. There are indications that some countries, at least, are willing to rethink present policies and allocations. This position is supported by hearings in the UK Parliament in 2017 6 and the European Parliament in January 2018; the Members' Declaration of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe calling for the protection of interpreters in conflict zones; and the Change.org campaign in support of a UN resolution to cover translators and interpreters in conflict zones. Activist initiatives, such as the No One Left Behind and The Daily Mail's Betrayal of the Brave campaigns, are needed to keep this on the agenda. Members of the international coalition of linguists – the AIIC (International Association of Conference Interpreters) Project Group on Interpreters in Conflict Zones, Red T, FIT (International Federation of Translators), IAPTI (International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters), CLI (Critical Link International) and WASLI (World Association of Sign Language Interpreters) – have tirelessly and unselfishly led this campaign in support of our fellow interpreters in conflict zones. Notes 1 E.g. the 'NATO ALingP-1 Linguistic Support for Operations' manual, available with subscription only; and the UK Ministry of Defence's 'Joint Doctrine Note 1/13: Linguistic Support to Operations' (March 2013); bit.ly/2GDBTRu 2 See also the documentary Fixer: The taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi (2009); and Mastrogiacomo, D (2009) Days of Fear. New York: Europa Editions 3 E.g. 'Working with or as an Interpreter: An OSCE handbook for fieldwork' (2005). Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; www.osce.org/ secretariat/41112; and Red T's 'Conflict Zone Field Guide for Civilian Translators/Interpreters and Users of Their Services'. red-t.org/guidelines.html 4 'Geen asiel in Nederland voor tolk Afghanistan- missie'. In De Standaard (13/8/2014); and 'Afghaanse defensietolk krijgt toch asiel -– "ik ben zo blij, ik kan wel dansen"'. In NRC (23/4/2015) 5 'Government Criticised after "Suicide" of Afghan War Translator Facing Deportation from Britain'. In The Telegraph (2/5/2016) 6 See bit.ly/2CED8h3 and bit.ly/2CEbT6c © SHUTTERSTOCK