Ellen DeGeneres Meets U.S. Military Translator Naqeeb
Empty Lighthouse is a reader-supported site. This article may contain affiliate links to Amazon and other sites. We earn a commission on purchases made through these links.
The Ellen Show featured a U.S. Military translator out of Northern Afghanistan named Naqeeb. Naqeeb told his story of survival and the hope that Ellen DeGeneres gave him as well as how it taught him to laugh.
DeGeneres introduced Naqeeb to the show with a video that found Naqeeb telling his story. He said that he is learning to smile again and now lives in Washington D.C. Naqeeb was an interpreter for five years for the U.S. military. The job is very important and dangerous. He said the Taliban lived where his family did and because his face was on national television a few times, the Taliban had his picture.
When he returned home, Naqeeb was receiving threats from the Taliban and he couldn't go out or see his friends for two years there. He was checking his Facebook and saw a clip of The Ellen Show. He said he smiled watching the video after a long time of not smiling in the past.
He said because it made him happy he decided to watch more of DeGeneres. It helped him forget his situation.
Naqeeb said he loves when DeGeneres scares stars like Justin Bieber. Naqeeb had to move to America because he wasn't safe. When he came to the U.S. he only had two shirts and two pants, however, he had the best nights sleep in almost three years. He said to be on The Ellen Show is one of the best things that has happened to him and the show makes him so hopeful. Naqeeb could not wait to tell DeGeneres thank you.
DeGeneres welcomed Naqeeb to the show and thanked him for all that he did for the country.
Naqeeb said it was his pleasure and the hardest part of it was the years he was away from his hometown and it was a very dangerous part of Afghanistan.
He told DeGeneres that hearing that his family was getting threats from the Taliban was very hard for him because he couldn't help his family or himself.
Naqeeb says things got worse for him when the U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan and he lost his job. He had to go back home and the fact that he was a high-profile interpreter put him on their kill list.
He also helped a lot of other people in his hometown get jobs for the U.S. which made things worse for him. He could not say goodbye to his family before he left to come to the U.S.
Right after he arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, he called his dad who said he was glad that Naqeeb had left because the Taliban had taken over their entire province. However, he could not go back to say goodbye to his family and friends.
Naqeeb says his family and friends are okay now. Naqeeb works for the UPS store in Washington D.C. and he says he loves it.
DeGeneres and Naqeeb thanked the people of No One Left Behind who helped him find a job and get on his feet.
Naqeeb wanted to take a selfie with DeGeneres so she granted it and also presented him with a framed photo of his favorite selfies. You can watch Naqeeb's interview on The Ellen Show below.