In Sha Allah, If God Wills It: The Real-Life Story of an Afghan Combat Interpreter

Abdul Atah's service and sacrifice for America makes a moving and meaningful story. His dedication to our nation-its ideals of freedom and justice-should reaffirm our own. - United States Senator Richard Blumenthal Wounded twice in service to America, Afghan combat interpreter Abdul Atah Wahedi is one of America's unknown heroes, but to the Taliban, he is considered the Voice of the Infidel. As America began to exit Afghanistan, Abdul, hunted by the Taliban, must flee with his wife and family, but his escape is blunted by the closure of the American Embassy in Kabul during COVID. With less than a handful of days before his Special Immigration Visa (SIV) and the visas of his family are about to expire, the mother of Abdul's former commanding officer intervenes. Working with an American senator and an American SIV coordinator from Keeping Our Promise, she orchestrates Abdul's harrowing escape to America with his wife and children, getting them out with only hours to spare. The story begins in the 400-year-old village of Mata in the Panjshir Valley, and chronicles Abdul's life from his earliest memories, including the drowning death of his older brother in the Panjshir River, the ten-year Russian invasion of Afghanistan, and his father's escape to the caves of the Hindu Kush mountains, to Abdul's life on the battlefield, his marriage, the births of his children, and finally his escape to America. AUTHOR: Ron Farina is the author of At the Altar of the Past, Out of the Shadows: Voices of American Women Soldiers, Who Will Have My Back, and Sacrifice, The Final Chapter. In 2021, Ron was awarded the AWP Intro Award for fiction and the American Society of Professional Journalists, Connecticut Chapter first-place award for general column magazine feature, for the essay War Torn. In January 2025, cited for using his passion for writing to advocate for and bring attention to the needs of veterans and their families, Ron was inducted into the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame and selected as an INDIE Publisher's 2025 book award finalist for military nonfiction, for the book Sacrifice, the Final Chapter. 29 images