Page 12 - Siv Program News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

0 that they are the ones that have protected our nation for the past two decades by taking the fight to the terrorists in iraq and afghanistan, and not allowing them to attack our homeland. and, unfortunately, we see the resurgence of the taliban and the reconstitution of al qaeda in afghanistan. so i worry about the homeland. but that is the very first thing that our president needs to communicate is to these brave men and women, a heartfelt thank you. the second thing is how are we going to evacuate all of these americans, all these afghans, and then, third, how are we going to contain the t...

What we are to them. when we knew they'd be leaving for kabul, we spoke personally with his mom and dad. and his mom said to me, i am giving my son to you, you are now his mother and i entrust him to you. the kids call us grandma and papa, and we just love them. and we speak -- now we're talking every day because we're on the same time zone. before that it would be texts and e-mails. and before now we were just working so hard through the siv program. we were lucky to have support through the alliance of wartime allies, an amazing organization that is fighting every day to get these 18,000 peo...

>> sure. he -- raheem and i worked together and he was my interpreter at my forward operating base near gardez. and the more we worked together and the more we shared and the danger that we shared and the good times together, we became closer. he's the same age as my youngest son, so i took that connection to him very strongly and very early in our relationship and helped him and his wife, and they had three children at the time. i've just pictured my son raising three children in that environment, and it just -- i couldn't imagine that. so we are halfway home at this time. we still need suppo...

If we were waiting on the u.s. siv program, he would still be stuck in kabul. so my thanks and my gratitude as to canadian siv program who's brought this forward and got him to safety as fast as they did. so i hope this is a continuation to the u.s. and not a destination. >> hopefully so so you can be reunited. you are his family. this is such a touching story. tell us how you've been sporting him over the years and help his family manage to get to canada? >> well, over the years our relationship has developed, and it's grown and become really rich and full now. they -- raheem and his wife cal...

But as up to 14 months before they can get that paperwork. there has been legislation, congressman jason crow and others sponsored that did pass which would cut some of the red tape of that siv program. >> those people living in the park that our colleague cynt viewing, they can't get that paperwork. and it's four mules as you know from the embassy to the airport. and how are they going to traverse those four miles even the people of the embassy who are going to have some security, some 1400 people at the embassy. so they're doing what they deny is an evacuation but is an evacuation. you know,...