It was an unlikely reunion after 18 long years.
Raz Mohammad and Peter Erson formed a bond of brotherhood in the Afghanistan war zone in 2007.
Raz was an Afghan Locally Engaged Employee (LEE), putting his and his family’s lives on the line as an interpreter and cultural guide for Australian forces.
He worked side by side with Peter, who was the ADF’s only investigator of non-combatant or civilian deaths.
In a role akin to NCIS, they examined scenes of unimaginable horror and peril.
In the aftermath of suicide bombings and IUD explosions, they searched for fingers in body bags in order to identify victims.
Yet after their work together ended, they had not seen each other for 18 years and had little idea of their whereabouts.
That was until the two spotted each other over a table at Dandenong-Cranbourne RSL this month.
It was at an Afghan veterans and interpreters thank-you dinner organised by the RSL, which followed a successful thank-you lunch for Iraqi interpreters in June.
Both get-togethers are believed to be a first of a kind in Australia. They are co-sponsored with Berwick RSL.
On his way to the reunion, Peter was skeptical about the Australian Government “keeping its word” about resettling LEEs in this country.
“In the back of my mind, I’m asking did the government bring them out. When I was invited to the dinner here, the first thing I wondered was if Raz was going to be there.
“Then across at the end of the table, lo and behold, there he is. Eighteen years later.
“I’m just so glad because he looked after us.”
Raz’s local insights were invaluable on the job. Such as advising the ADF not to trust a local police commander who promised to return a victim’s car to their family.
He showed conspicuous bravery when he ran in the line of fire to protect a motorcyclist who was shot after breaching an ADF checkpoint.
The rider in front of the wounded victim however was shot dead.
“Our soldiers told them to stop, stop. But they probably didn’t listen to the command, and our guys started shooting them.
“The one who was injured said please don’t shoot me. I hugged him and said no one will shoot you, I am here with you.”
He further de-escalated the situation, imploring local police to stop firing at the ADF in retaliation.
“I yelled at them to stop this shooting because this incident happened by mistake, the Australian forces didn’t intentionally shoot him. It happened accidentally.”
Raz later mediated with the dead rider’s grieving family, to resolve the incident in a “traditional Afghan way”.
He was awarded an ADF Bronze Commendation Badge for his actions.
Dandenong-Cranbourne RSL veterans support services manager Vladimir Nagorny said the aim of the thank-you events was to formerly recognise the interpreters’ service.
“These men and women were the eyes, ears, and advisers of the Australian Defence Force during the mission — often putting their own lives, and the safety of their families, at great risk.
“It has taken considerable time and effort to have their service properly recognised within the RSL community.”
