Washington: Before fleeing to America at the age of 31 to provide a better life for his wife and four children, Nasrat Ahmad Yar had spent the majority of his adult life working with the US military in Afghanistan.
He was able to send money to family and friends in Afghanistan by finding work as a ride-sharing driver. In the Washington suburb where many Afghans who fled their country now reside, he enjoyed playing volleyball with friends. He had a strong serve and stood at 6 feet 5 inches
He went out driving on Monday night because he was worried about paying the rent, and was shot and killed in Washington. Although no suspects have been detained, surveillance footage shows four boys or young men running away as well as the sound of a single gunshot. A $25,000 reward has been offered by the police for information that results in an arrest.
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He was very giving. He was very kind. His longtime friend and fellow Afghan immigrant Rahim Amini said, "He was always trying to help the people. Ahmad Yar, he claimed, constantly reprimanded him to "Don't forget the people left behind."
Ahmed Yar's generosity also struck Jeramie Malone, an American who met him through her volunteer work with a veteran-founded group that rescues former Afghan interpreters.
He was "just really, really kind" and "always wanted to be giving more than he was receiving." Malone claimed that in America, "all he wanted was a chance." At the All Muslim Association of America in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on Saturday, Afghans and US military veterans gathered for a funeral service. As Ahmad Yar's casket was lowered into the ground using ropes and people used shovels toss soil on top, family and friends consoled his kids and wife.
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Matthew Butler, a retired military man who first met Ahmad Yar in 2009 at Bagram Airfield, an American base north of Kabul, the Afghan capital, was one of the attendees. His primary interpreter during his two tours of the nation was Ahmad Yar.
Butler noted that the military's commitment to leaving no one behind now extends to Ahmad Yar's wife and referred to Ahmad Yar as being like a brother or a son to him.
"I vowed to support his wife and his children, telling them that just because Nasrat was gone, my support for them didn't end. After the ceremony, Butler vowed to stay by his side.
According to Amini, Ahmad Yar worked for the US military for about ten years as an interpreter and in other capacities because he wanted to help the Afghan next generation live better lives.
Since 2009, the US has offered special immigrant visas to Afghans who cooperated with the US government to immigrate to the country; however, according to Amini, his friend preferred to remain in Afghanistan, where he felt needed, rather than apply right away.
Ahmad Yar had reportedly said, "I have guys here I need to support. I can travel to America when I feel like they don't need my help. After the US left Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban seized power.
Ahmad Yar's cousin, Mohammad Ahmadi, had already immigrated to the US after serving in the US military. On the phone, the two discussed how to evacuate Ahmad Yar's family from Afghanistan. According to Ahmadi, his cousin was concerned that the Taliban soldiers he could see in the streets of Kabul would learn that he had been an interpreter for the US military.
"He said, 'I don't want to get killed in front of my wife and kids,'" Ahmadi recalled. Ahmad Yar travelled to northern Afghanistan in an attempt to enter Uzbekistan after he was unable to leave the crowded Kabul airport. When that failed, he and his family travelled to Mazar-e-Sharif in the northwest where they were able to board a flight to the United Arab Emirates and eventually make their way to America.
Even when he was hiding out in Mazar-e-Sharif, Nasrat made an effort to help other Afghans who had also come to escape the Taliban by welcoming them upon their arrival, inviting their families to stay with him, and feeding them while everyone waited for flights out, according to Malone.
Nasrat was very different, she claimed, because despite his needing assistance, he was constantly assisting me.
He requested writing materials for the kids while they waited at the temporary transit camp in the United Arab Emirates so he could teach them English before they arrived in the US, according to Malone. For him, it was very important that his children receive an education and have access to opportunities that they would not have otherwise had in Afghanistan.
His oldest child, a girl, is now 13 years old, and his other children, boys aged 11, 8, and 15 months, are all boys.
Amini claimed that after his friend was robbed in Pennsylvania, the family moved to Alexandria, in northern Virginia. Ahmad Yar, according to Amini, claimed he fled to the US "to be safe and unfortunately I'm not safe here."
They both ended up working as ride-share drivers in northern Virginia and lived about three miles (four kilometres) apart. They engaged in daylong WhatsApp group text chats, just like many Afghans living there. They also participated in a weekly volleyball match. No one could block Ahmad Yar's serve because he was so skilled, according to Amini.
Amini claimed that after speaking on Monday evening, another Afghan friend woke him up and informed him that Ahmad Yar had been killed.
Amini started frantically calling his friend while still in shock. But when someone did pick up the phone, it was the police: "The police officer said, 'I'm sorry. Unfortunately, he is no longer with us.
Ahmad Yar's body was discovered by the police after they responded to a call about an unconscious person, according to their report. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead there. One of the four alleged attackers shouted, "You just killed him," on the surveillance footage they made public. Someone else replied, "He was reaching, bro."
Murders and carjackings are the main causes of Washington's steadily rising crime rates, which have proven difficult to control. Compared to this time last year, homicides are up 14%. Police reported that nine people who were taking part in the Fourth of July celebrations were shot and injured early on Wednesday.
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.According to Ahmadi, the cousin of Ahmad Yar, his wife is still in shock. However, she claimed that in coming to America, both she and her husband shared the same objective of giving their kids a better future. I have the same objective for them, she said to Ahmadi. They can attend classes. They can enrol in college, receive an education, and develop into morally upright members of society.