OLYMPIA, Wash. — After a stressful summer in Afghanistan, Mohammad Mahis’ family is looking forward to settling down in Thurston County.
Mahis, his wife Mastoorah, brother Nabi, and four young daughters ranging in age from two to seven, escaped in late August, in the final days of the United States’ 20-year presence in Afghanistan.
Mahis said he worried about his daughters under Taliban leadership, “They don’t let them go to school, they don’t go to work.”
But his biggest concern was his personal safety.
Mahis worked as an interpreter for American military members, something he said put a price on his head.
“I was a big target,” said Mahis. “Because they had the power, they had the everything, I tried to hide myself.”
Mahis said he would not have made it out without the help from an old co-worker, retired U.S. Army Green Beret Sgt. Major Dave Bligh.
Mahis served as an interpreter for Bligh during deployments to Afghanistan in 2010.
“They know the area, they know the local culture. They’re worth their weight in gold in Afghanistan,” said Bligh, who said Mahis’ expertise likely saved his life, and the lives of other American soldiers during combat missions.
When he heard Mahis needed help escaping, Bligh said he contacted fellow Special Forces soldiers to get the family safely to the airport and on a plane to Washington, D.C.
The Mahis family had been staying at an Army base in New Mexico before flying to Sea-Tac last week.
They’re now staying with a host family in Olympia, thanks to volunteers with Lutheran Community Services.
Bligh, who is getting a Master's in teaching from St. Martin’s University, organized a fundraiser and gathered donations for the family where he works as a student teacher, North Thurston High School.
“I owe him, really,” said Mahis. “He did a lot of things for me.”
Bligh said there’s no doubt Mahis, and likely his wife and brother, would have been killed had they remained in Afghanistan.
He said it’s been “almost surreal” to see Mahis in Thurston County.
The two families shared a pizza dinner over the weekend.
“I wish I could have done it for more,” said Bligh of his desire to help others left in Afghanistan.
According to the state’s Department of Social and Health Services, Washington state has become home to more than 1,100 evacuees from Afghanistan since early September.
Between October 2020 and September 2021, around 600 evacuees from Afghanistan relocated to Washington state.