Kafkaesque ‘bureaucratic clusterf*ck’: Oliver slams US treatment of military translators

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/kafkaesque-bureaucratic-clusterfck-oliver-slams-us-treatment-of-military-translators/



Kafkaesque ‘bureaucratic clusterf*ck’: Oliver slams US treatment of military translators
Tom Boggioni
20 Oct 2014 at 09:19 ET

On Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver turned to the serious problem facing foreign translators attempting to leave their countries when faced with the possibility of death for helping American forces.

Displaying a massive stack of paperwork the State Department requires to set in motion a process that can take years, Oliver called it a “‘bureaucratic clusterf*ck,” stating that even author Franz Kafka wouldn’t want his name associated with it.

~snip~

According to Oliver, the U.S. government has set up special programs allowing foreign translators in war zones to request a visa to emigrate to the U.S. since their lives might be in danger once American forces leave their countries. Yet, in 2011, despite the availability of 1,500 visas the U.S. only issued three.

“The number of visas for Afghanis who risked their lives for us should not be so low that relatively stupid toddlers can count up to it,” Oliver stated.

[MADem]

1. An insult to Kafka, it is! This was a really good piece and I recommend it strongly.

It's done with that classic humor, but it's as unfunny as it comes when you strip it down to the basics.

We NEED to fix the visa system for those who helped us in Afghanistan. NEED. TO. In a big way.