A former Marine interpreter is scared about being sent back to a country where his life is in danger

We've heard a lot of reactions to the election, but here is one from someone new to the US.

His name is Naz. That's the only name he wants to use, because he's concerned for his safety. He's from Afghanistan and worked as an interpreter for the US Marines. That work triggered death threats from the Taliban, forcing him to leave.

After years of waiting, and traveling from one country to another as a refugee, he finally got a US visa. But before he left for Boston, his friends tried to encourage him to stay in Germany. “You will get your documents here and you will have a good life,” he says friends in Germany told him. “Don’t go to America because Donald Trump will become president and they will send you back to Afghanistan. You will lose your life.”

Naz ignored the warnings and says it’s been a good decision so far. But he’s worried now about being sent home. It’s due in part to the fact his friends’ warnings came true: Donald Trump will become president.

“I’m scared,” he says. “I’m scared that I’ll be sent home to Afghanistan.”

Naz hopes his work with the US Marines will protect him. But he’s still scared. He says there is much uncertainty with regard to immigration, especially due to him being both a refugee and a Muslim.

And yet, he’s doing a very American thing: Speaking up. Naz attended a recent protest with friends in Boston. He wanted to lend his voice to the rights of others. “We had a sign that read: ‘We Support Refugees,’” he says. “It was my first time at a protest. But I heard that America is a place for free speech. Everyone has the right to say what they want to say. But I’m a little nervous about it. I’m still new here. But I wanted to go here to support refugees.”

So he did, despite apprehensions.

This attendance is also a reason why Naz ignored his friends in Germany. He believed in the US. “I like America and it’s a free country for all people and there is a lot of respect for all people,” he says. “That’s why I wanted to come.”

On the streets he saw something incredible: thousands of others Americans who support what he did for the troops, and thousands of Americans who support refugees coming to their city for the pursuit of life, liberty and justice.