The Story of Tariq, and Afghan Helper

Letter to the Editor by Rev. Chris Antal, published in the New York Times, May 9, 2016.

To the Editor:

Re “Don’t Abandon America’s Afghan Helpers” (editorial, April 29):

I didn’t abandon Tariq, an interpreter and one of America’s Afghan helpers. I met him in Kandahar during my deployment in 2012. After years of advocacy and hundreds of letters sent on his behalf, he received refugee status and arrived with his wife and four children in February.

With the support of my congregation, I rented a pickup truck, filled it with household goods, and drove seven hours to the airport to give his family a warm welcome to America. My two daughters joined me, and we stopped along the way and bought balloons, which we presented with hugs to his three daughters and son as they came through the arrival gate.

I only wish that lawmakers who seek to impose unreasonable eligibility criteria and provide no additional visas to the thousands of other Afghan helpers in the lurch could have shared that moment. Perhaps the experience would infuse their callous calculations with much-needed heart and soul.

(Rev.) CHRIS J. ANTAL

Rock Tavern, N.Y.

The writer is a Unitarian minister.