Like his older brother before him, Abdul Saboor worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Special Forces who arrived in Kabul to rid his country of the hated Taliban. But he couldn’t tell his friends where he worked. A growing number of locals viewed the Americans as foreign “invaders" and targeted Afghans — including Abdul’s family — who worked for them. His older brother was granted refugee status and moved to the U.S. in 2008. It took five more years for Abdul’s application to be accepted. By that time, he had a wife. They arrived in Syracuse where he works for a nonprofit, helping settle other refugees while getting a masters degree in public administration at Syracuse University. Having seen nothing but destruction and corruption growing up, he wants to learn all about good government and be a part of it.

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