The Afghan Interpreter: When True Grit Counts

The story is based on the diary notes kept by a young 30 year-old Afghan man who grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan, a city ubiquitously subjected to terror attacks over the last 20 years. The story taps into the ongoing struggle of this young father trying to build a decent family life and career in a war-torn country. Thrown in the midst of the turmoil between tribal dominance of the Taliban culture over different Afghan factions and a fledgling democracy, his constant unease stirs him on to keep looking for a better life. He ends up on the wanted list of the Taliban as a previous government convoy logistics manager. Living on borrowed time before the Taliban capture him and the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government, he steers through a series of possible options to get out of this dangerous predicament. His life is one that swings on a pendulum from straight-out murder across to desperate survival. The odds were high but so was his determination to achieve his goal for a better life.

The young man's story provides a powerful insight into the mind of an Afghan interpreter who worked in key roles supporting the Afghan of the central government Ashraf Ghani and the NATO coalition forces in Afghanistan. With a NATO led coalition, it all seemed well on the surface, but the political undercurrents rife with corruption were undermining the effort and sacrifice many were making. He is motivated by hope and a vision that his beloved country would become a place where he and his family could be safe and free to express their views and receive a decent education. The
reader is taken on a journey through life as he deals with terrorism threats, corruption and cultural sensitivities while balancing family needs, his own morals and a survival. He reflects on his desperation as the Taliban advances across Afghanistan in mid-2021, the chaos resulting during the evacuations and the relief of getting his family to safety. Weighing him down further was the overwhelming sadness of losing the home he built and leaving behind his country and culture, possibly never to come back to it in his lifetime. In spite of all this, he takes a massive leap of faith to seek a new country that guarantees him and his family a safe haven, a just reward for working hard
and the retaining of his dignity as a human being.

Product details

Format: Perfect Bound (Paperback)
Dimensions: B-Format (127mm x 198mm)
Pages: 300 pgs