Saboor Sakhizada: Afghan Translator, Child of War

This week on JobMakers, Host Denzil Mohammed talks with Abdul Saboor Sakhizada, who worked as an instructor, manager and translator for the U.S. Army (and received a Department of the Army Superior Civilian Service Award) in Kabul, Afghanistan. In the first of a two-part special, we get to know Afghanistan and its people, examine the fallout of the government collapse and learn how Abdul is actively working in the most difficult and chaotic of circumstances to get as many people evacuated from Afghanistan as possible. This week, we hear about the fascinating but tragic life in Afghanistan from Abdul, a self-described child of war, and we discover what those 50,000 interpreters had to endure every day, fueled by patriotism and targeted as traitors, in this special episode of JobMakers.

Guest:

Abdul Saboor Sakhizada grew up in Afghanistan, and studied world affairs and other subjects at Syracuse University. He has taught in multiple settings, from military missions to refugee resettlement, and managed diverse teams that developed programs and advocated for the most vulnerable. He has communicated across different cultures, through professional experiences with NGOs, IGOs, and in military and civil society. Outside of work, he has facilitated and created opportunities for cultural interaction, coached soccer, and volunteered to mentor and interpret for newly arrived refugees in upstate New York.