The Interpreter (Pt 2): Escape from Kabul
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 15 December 2021
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Yesterday we listened back to our episode from August about an Afghan interpreter, Ahmadzai, whose life hung in the balance as the Taliban regained power.
Today: what happened next.
This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.
Guests:
- Hanif Ahmadzai, former interpreter for British and American forces in Afghanistan.
- Charlie Herbert, retired British Army major general.
Host: Manveen Rana.
Clips: Reuters, Parliament.
This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | At Jewelux Decorator Centre, we like to go that little bit further, |
| 0:03.5 | which is why we're offering our trade account holders an extra 10% off when spending £100 or more. |
| 0:08.9 | Whatever your next project, we have all your favourite brands and the best products to help you do |
| 0:13.2 | the best job. So for an extra 10% off trade account terms and shelf prices, visit your nearest store |
| 0:18.7 | or go online before October 22nd. Jewelux Decorator Centre, centred on you. |
| 0:23.9 | £100 excludes VAT at 20% off and also is available to Jewelux Decorator Centre 360 customers |
| 0:28.8 | Sundays online only. I'm Alex Dibble from the Times World in 10 podcast. |
| 0:34.1 | Every day we sit down and go through the stories being broken by our correspondents across the world |
| 0:39.8 | and we play you their interviews. If she can be assassinated by India, |
| 0:44.2 | what do they leave me as someone who's just her son? After she was raped by Epstein, she ran. |
| 0:50.3 | If you struggle to keep up with the news, the world in 10 is for you. Listen, wherever you get |
| 0:55.4 | your podcasts, it is 10 minutes to stay on top of the world. |
| 1:04.6 | Hello, David Arunabic here. Yesterday we listened again to the extraordinary story of an Afghan |
| 1:10.4 | interpreter, Afghansai. He'd worked for British and American forces but when they withdrew |
| 1:15.9 | from Afghanistan and the Taliban swept into power, he was left to face what he expected to be |
| 1:21.6 | a certain death. How do you view the future? I don't see a future, I honestly didn't know |
| 1:28.8 | future for me. We are kind of counting the moments to get killed by Taliban. We cannot leave. |
| 1:36.8 | We will get killed and no hope left. We will have to face what is going to happen to us. |
| 1:51.6 | That was August. Many of you wrote in asking what happened next. One listener said, |
| 1:59.2 | I lit a candle for Amadzai tonight. I cannot stop thinking about it. |
| 2:04.3 | Four months on, Amadzai is alive and well against all odds. We can even give him his full name, |
| 2:10.2 | Hanif Amadzai, now that we no longer have to protect his identity. And Manvin has been |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Times, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Times and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.