Lost in Translation

Visa Delays Imperil Iraqis Who Helped U.S.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/13/world/middleeast/13baghdad.html?_r=1&hp

Forty years ago

Hmong men, people of the mountains,

Clasped to helicopter landing skids
Dropping midair

Abandoned by the US government they supported

Left to death or imprisonment

Or to languish in Thai Relocation Camps,

Victims of their own loyalty

Now, Iraqi translators

Pack bulky suitcases and pray for visas that never arrive,

Burn their notebooks and wish they could forget English,

Victims lost in translation

http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/?p=1337

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/03/26/070326fa_fact_packer