How the Mission to Help One Became a Calling to Rescue Thousands from the Taliban
'Saving Aziz' by 'Chad Robichaux with David L. Thomas' is a memoir about a former Force Recon Marine, who after returning from war, finds purpose in helping veterans with PTSD and suicidal tendencies. It's an inspiring journey of finding redemption and hope amidst personal struggles.
After 9/11, the US went to war to oust the Taliban in Afghanistan. That’s what you need to know in terms of the setting of this story. Chad Robichaux was a Force Recon Marine – one of the toughest of the tough – and was working special operations in the war-ridden country.
Aziz was a married, twenty-five-year-old father, already teaching English to his fellow countrymen, when a US Marine recruited him as an interpreter. During his training, Aziz stood out as something special, and quickly went to work with Chad and his team.
Over the years working together, the two men formed a strong friendship, so much so that Aziz’s kids called Chad “uncle.” One day, Chad joined Aziz and his family for a night of food, fellowship, and to watch the US election to see if George W. Bush would win another term.
Chad thought it was odd that US elections were of such interest to Aziz and his countrymen, so he asked his friend why.
In response, Aziz took Chad to an abandoned building with a pool built into the ground. The pool was empty and Aziz climbed in. Chad followed and watched as Aziz pointed to the wall of the pool on the deep end. There were stains and bullet holes at the head-level of someone kneeling. Chad knew instantly that this was a place where executions were held.
Aziz pointed out another row of bullet holes – these at the height of small children. Chad was sick to his stomach.
“This is why,” Aziz told him. Many Afghan citizens were old enough to remember a time when Afghanistan had experienced a brief period of freedom – an especially liberating time for women in the 1970s. But then war came and out of it rose a new element of ultra-conservative mujahideen, called the Taliban.
In the post-9/11 era, Afghan citizens were prepared to fight with their lives to stop the Taliban from taking control: to protect their daughters from being sold off or worse, to prevent their sons from being sent to their deaths. Citizens like Aziz looked to the US for salvation.
Chad took the memory of the pool with him into every operation. He understood what was on the line for families like Aziz’s – heroes among so many of them.
Saving Aziz (2023) is the story of how one man’s daring rescue of his friend and brother-in-arms turned into a multi-organizational effort that has resulted in rescuing over 17,000 allies from Afghanistan.
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Blink 3 von 12 - Eine kurze Geschichte der Menschheit
von Yuval Noah Harari
