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Mask Ban Upsets Iraqis Hired as U.S. Interpreters
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Under pressure from Congress to do more for Iraqi interpreters working for the U.S. government, the State Department this year launched a streamlined immigrant visa program for them.
Some U.S. soldiers said enforcing the policy makes them feel terrible.
"It's a life-and-death issue for them," said Staff Sgt. Jeremy Ziegler, who works in Dora, a district in southern Baghdad. "I don't see anything wrong with them wearing a mask. Why risk the lives of those who work with us?"
An interpreter assigned to Ziegler's battalion was abducted at home, tortured and slain a few months before the mask ban was implemented, said Army Capt. Ryan Edwards, the company commander.
Although large extremist groups have been markedly weakened in recent months, smaller cells still target interpreters, he said.
"They want to target the big payoffs, and the terps are one of them," Edwards said.
A 24-year-old interpreter who uses the name Jack and is assigned to a U.S. military base in Rustamiyah, a neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, said he was devastated when his supervisor told him in September that he could no longer wear a mask.
During his first patrol without a mask, "some bad guys" recognized him, he said. The next time he went home on vacation, his terrified mother told him someone had shot dozens of rounds at the family's southern Baghdad house.
"My mom just about got killed," said Jack, who like others interviewed for this story asked to be identified only by his military-assigned nickname. A.J., who works at Forward Operating Base Falcon in Dora, said he was fired after a national police commander reported him for wearing a mask.
"They gave me one hour to leave the FOB," he said. Leaving a large military base after dark can be dangerous, he said. "It's like they said, 'Go get killed.' "
After A.J.'s company commander stepped in, he was able to keep his job but was assigned to a different company.
Since the mask ban was implemented, A.J. and several other interpreters have grown beards and purchased ski goggles. A.J., who has worked for the military on and off for five years, said he is proud of his work -- even though only his wife knows what he does.
