Translating for Australian and US troops in Afghanistan made Sheraz a target for the Taliban, he's now got an Anzac Day moment - ABC News | Metaglossia: The Translation World | Scoop.it
Sheraz worked with Australian and US troops in Afghanistan, as a result his family were targeted by the Taliban. This Anzac Day he's being heroed.

"His role was to act as a liaison between the US forces and the Afghan national army and police officers they worked alongside. He provided translation and cultural advice.


 


"The Americans did not know which one is the mosque, which one is the normal house. But we would know; we would see books, we would see praying rugs," he says.


 


"So if you see an American walking inside a mosque with their boots on and with their canine dogs, it would trigger the civilians right away."


 


Targeted by his own countrymen


Many Afghan civilians resented the Americans, but they also detested the translators, like Sheraz, who worked with them.


 


"They didn't like interpreters at all. They would treat them as an infidel, who doesn't believe in God," Sheraz says.


 


Sheraz's brother Ferdows was killed by an IED in 2017, and later, his family home was targeted in a bomb attack that severely injured his father and younger brother. 


 


Sheraz believes the attacks were in revenge for his work.


 


"His hands, his feet were burned … when the explosion happened, they ran away," Sheraz tells 7.30.


 


"But as soon as they remembered that my dad is inside, he just went back to the fire and grabbed him and pulled him out. So they got burned while they were taking my dad out of the fire."


 


By that time it had become clear that Afghanistan was no longer safe for Sheraz, or his family.


 


In 2019, he along with his wife and son were granted visas to Australia as part of a government scheme to help those who had worked with Australian troops.


 


Gus McFarlane had written supporting letters to help the family come to Australia.


 


"He, in my opinion, directly contributed to my safety and the safety of other Australian soldiers that were deployed in Afghanistan," says Lieutenant Colonel McFarlane.


 


Sheraz's parents and younger brother have subsequently been granted visas.


 


On the eve of Anzac Day he told 7.30 that he doesn't have lingering trauma from the years of conflict in Afghanistan.


 


"Maybe Afghans are tough," he says. 


 


"They face war for more than 50 years now. Maybe that's another reason, because since we were kids, we hear firearms … we're talking about war, about losing family members, losing relatives, and they see bombs, they see people get blown up, they see vehicles blown up."


 


As he is explaining the impact of war on Afghanistan's people, his children Sultan and Sophia come barrelling into the lounge room.


 


"What if I was stuck in Afghanistan still, so my daughter wouldn't be able to go to school and my family and I wouldn't be safe," Sheraz says.


 


"I think about the positives that I have in my life now."


 


Lieutenant Colonel McFarlane says he's proud that the RSL is recognising Sheraz, and all the locally-engaged staff this Anzac Day...."


 


By Adam Harvey


7.30


Topic:Anzac Day


https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-23/sheraz-ahmadi-afghan-translator-australia-troops-anzac-day/106585112


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