Liaqat Khan risked his life to help Australia. Now he calls the country home.
The 25-year old Afghan national worked with the Australian Defence Force as an interpreter from 2009 to 2014, during the Afghanistan mission.
"Anybody who co-operated and helps not only the ADF but in general, international security assistance, the Taliban were following those people to kill them," Mr Khan said.
He says Afghans were killed both before and after they were employed by the ADF.
“My best friends were killed during those operations in Afghanistan and those people who were with the Australian mission, those people living in Afghanistan, they have been killed by Taliban,” he said.
No longer safe in his homeland, Mr Khan, his wife and children were granted Australian visas under the offshore humanitarian programme.
In 2014, the family resettled in Newcastle.
While safety is no longer an issue, Mr Khan says they are still making sacrifices.
Afghan national Liaqat Khan worked with the Australian Defence Force as an interpreter from 2009 to 2014. Source: Supplied
“I couldn’t visit my family during the last four years, two of my brothers had weddings but I couldn’t attend due to security," he said.
"I’d love to visit, I’d love to be there.”
Mr Khan is one of around 800 Afghan nationals, employees of the ADF and their families, who since 2013 have been granted Australian visas.
Around 300 of them were resettled in Newcastle.
They have access to the same resettlement services as any other humanitarian entrants, but some say Australia owes them more than that.
Sister Diana Santleben, who runs Zara’s House, a refugee support centre in Newcastle, says the Afghans are not getting the treatment they deserve.
Afghan national Liaqat Khan worked with the Australian Defence Force as an interpreter from 2009 to 2014. Source: Supplied
“They have given everything for Australia, they’ve given their homeland, they’ve given their professions, they’ve given their families , they’ve given their safety," she said.
“And we’re not falling over ourselves to respect that.”
Mr Khan hopes to continue his work with the Australian military but can't until he's an Australian citizen.
He says that's not possible until 2018, when he will have spent four years in the country.
“We are treated the same as any other refugees and we needed a slightly different approach and that didn’t happen,” he said.
At a local Anzac Day memorial service, Mr Khan took the opportunity to thank the ADF for its work in his homeland.
Afghan national Liaqat Khan worked with the Australian Defence Force as an interpreter from 2009 to 2014. Source: Supplied
Addressing the crowd in an impromptu speech, he said he "strongly appreciates the sacrifices made" in Afghanistan by Australian soldiers.
"They trained a lot of Afghan security national forces, they educated a lot of children, they created a lot of schools and roads," he said.
"And this is a day for those solders, who sacrificed their lives towards development and peace and prosperity in Afghanistan ... we will remember them."
Vietnam Veteran Gerry Bailey organised the memorial and says he feels an affinity with Mr Khan.
“I had a Vietnamese interpreter, he was so important to me, any problems, and I understand the value of these chaps working with the troops.”
Mr Khan's speech also caught the attention of Newcastle's Lord Mayor, Nuatali Nelmes.
Approaching Mr Khan after the service, the she thanked him for is work with the Australian military, and told SBS News she's proud the Afghan nationals are part of the Newcastle community.
"We have successfully resettled a number of Afghan translators that have worked for the ADF and their families here in the city of Newcastle," Cr Nelmes said.
Mr Bailey told Mr Khan he would introduce him and the other Afghan interpreters in the region to local soldiers who served in Afghanistan.
Afghan national Liaqat Khan worked with the Australian Defence Force as an interpreter from 2009 to 2014. Source: Supplied
"Apparently there’s quite a few living in Newcastle and hopefully we’ll get to meet them all at some stage," he said.
"We're going to find a few guys who were over there that we can introduced them to at one of our coffee mornings."
