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Cathy Allred
U.S. Navy Capt. Richard Guernsey of Pleasant Grove wants to bring an Iraqi friend home.
He and his coworkers call the man "Jim" rather than by his real name to protect his life and the lives of his wife and three young children. The man works as a translator for American soldiers in Iraq.
CBS News published a report in February 2007 that there are close to 10,000 translators in Iraq, but only 50 special visas to the U.S. have been available each year for them.
Since the article was released, legislation was passed creating a Special Visa Immigration program allowing more allied Iraqis a way to escape a certain death if they stay in their country.
There are some high costs involved in moving to the United States, from $10,000 to $15,000.
Jim is saving about $500 a month, half his monthly salary, for the moving process but he won't be able to save enough by the time the Special Visa Immigration process is complete in 8-10 months.
Capt. Guernsey has turned to his friends, coworkers and family for help bringing Jim to the U.S.
"While I will be helping as much as I can, more help is needed," Guernsey said.
Director of the Iraqi Strategic Support Cell, part of the Multinational Force-Iraq, Guernsey has opened a donation account at Zions Bank. Anyone can donate at any Zions Bank branch at "The Jim Donation Account," number 560385999.
Guernsey has seen people like Jim killed because they risk working for the U.S. government.
"He's got a great family, he's helped me tremendously," Guernsey said. "Our team works very closely with the Ministry of Defense and several other ministries. Without him it would be very difficult to do our job."
Jim's works as a translator and cultural advisor for Guernsey's ISSC team. He is a Sunni, a Iraqi minority.
"Iraqi national translators, commonly referred to as 'terps,' have been targeted by many armed and insurgent groups, to include Al-Qaeda in Iraq," said Rachid Ayouni, strategic consultant for the Multinational Force-Iraq.
Both Jim, Ayouni and Guernsey interact with senior officials in the Iraqi government. the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Industry, and 17 other ministries.
Ayouni said people like Jim are so key in rebuilding Iraq, vital to helping "commanders navigate cultural terrains," that they are sought by insurgents, found and killed.
Guernsey said Jim's family lives in what is called the Red Zone and Jim commutes everyday to the Green Zone, a more secure part of the city.
Everyday that goes by, it gets more and more dangerous for Jim and others like him, he said.
"I can honestly say, as much as I know Rich, he surprised me when I learned that he had set up an account to help Jim and his family," Ayouni said of Guernsey. "Rich is a great friend, family man, Navy officer ... Above all, he has and still is making a difference with the Iraqis."
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