A network of U.S. veterans and civilians is trying to repair a broken promise — at great cost.
Last summer, I began developing an Opinion Video project that I hoped would give voice to the many Afghans who had worked closely with the United States government in Afghanistan but had been left behind, to the mercy of the Taliban, despite American assurances of protection. |
It quickly became clear, however, that it was going to be hard to make an effective video about people who were living in fear, didn't want to be identified, wouldn't be able to show their faces on camera and, in some cases, required that we distort their voices. |
But, as often happens in journalism, as one door closed another opened. My reporting had connected me to an ad hoc, volunteer network of American military veterans and civilians who had been working for more than a year to get vulnerable Afghans out of the country. |
I was struck by the anger and deep anguish that many of the volunteers still felt about the U.S. government's betrayal of its Afghan allies. These emotions were particularly resonant among the veterans, whose military service had imbued them with a core principle: Never leave your people behind. |
They all spoke of moral injury — that is, trauma from witnessing or participating in something that goes against one's moral values. |
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They have channeled their sense of moral conviction into the effort to get Afghan allies to sanctuary. Their purpose has been reaffirmed daily by desperate messages from Afghans pleading for help and describing the horrors they face, including beatings, kidnappings and revenge killings. |
The commitment to rescue Afghans has bordered on the obsessive among some advocates, and has come at great personal sacrifice. Some have taken pay cuts to be able to devote more time to this work; others have gone into debt, had their homes repossessed or seen their marriages disintegrate. |
This network, and the burdens its members have assumed in trying to repair a broken promise, is the focus of the video we published this morning. |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
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