Afghanistan: interpreters seeking asylum in Hungary

Many local citizens are working for ISAF forces in Afghanistan, some take on odd jobs at military camps, some even fulfill intelligence duties, and being an interpreter is also a common career at the moment. Correspondents of Atlatszo.hu spoke to the intepreters of Hungarian forces working on development projects in Afghanistan. The deadline to the withdrawal of international troops is set for 2014, and the Hungarian provincial reconstruction team (PRT) will withdraw from Baghlan Province in March, 2013. Several interpreters supporting the work of Hungarian troops in the capital of Baghlan, Pol-e Khumri are trying to seek asylum in Hungary as they fear the reprisals from the Taliban. They sent a letter to the Hungarian Ministry of Defence asking for help but the letter was forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where a public relations official said the official reply to the case was still under way, since it had to comply with Hungarian and NATO interests as well. Furthermore the asylum-seekers would like to include family members in their applications and that’s also pushing Hungarian authorities to refrain from creating a precedent with granting them asylum.

Read the story (Hungarian) and watch our video interview in English (with Hungarian subtitles) here.