cemetery people. >> they have more than earned their spot in this country and they have certainly earned more than a welcome to america, good luck godspeed and then a swift kick in the ass. >> "america tonight's" sheila macvicar with those who risked their lives for u.s. forces and how we repaid them. thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. an extension of the long good-bye as president obama steps back from his long held promise, the u.s. would exit afghanistan by the end of his administration. it is a reminder of the sacrifices to get afghanistan to this point. u.s. forces have of course given their all. but they, in turn, have counted on the support of many afghans. "america tonight's" sheila macvicar considers our's unpaid debt. >> to the american soldiers, sadar khan was kk. who signed up in 2007 at camp phoenix in kabul to worked as an interpreter for u.s. military. >> air force, we're calling him ww. >> why did you decide to work for the americans? >> stat, a question occurred in my mind, they are helping this country, why you not joining them? >> for khan, that decision would lead to seven years of service. sometimes on dangerous missions. >> did you come under fire? >> we saw a lot of ambushes, face to face fighting. >> for khan he kept it secret for everyone but his closest family. but as he worked for americans day after day, many afghans came to recognize him. >> finally my father received a call from the taliban member in the district, stop, your son is a problem for us. >> khan said the threat hit home when his roommate, a fellow translator for the u.s. military was kidnapped and beheaded. >> do you think that might happen to you? >> why not? why am i different from him? i'm not different from him. if you work for the u.s. army, you are the same target, when you work for five years one month or one day. >> who served alongside u.s. military personnel the u.s. government created an immigration pathway for them called the special immigrant visa program or siv. after years of delays, finally 9,000 afghans and their families were admitted last year. including sadar khan. khan thought his troubles would be over. he says he was promised housing, employment and other services by the state department. but instead he found himself at his wit's end, unable to find a jb or pay for basic needs. >> oh god, what am i going to do now? you don't have rent, you don't have car, you don't have diaper for your baby. i found like putting myself under a track because i was getting hopeless. >> the state department aid was cut off after just a few months long before they could provide for themselves. >> they're being brought here to either la languish in poverty or that life in america is so difficult that the only choice they have is actually to return to iraq and afghanistan where their death is almost guaranteed. >> matt zeller founded only left behind. an organization that helped iraqi and afghan interpreters in the united states. he came to understand the depth of their problems when he tried ohip his on translator, who he credited helping escape. >> i was 28, and i thought, this force, hitting me, knocking me down and the unmistakable sound of an ak .47 i said who are you? he said i'm janis, one of your translators. i saw the bodies of the two men that he just shot and killed. janis saw that these guys were either going to kill me or do something awful to me. >> the five year struggle to get him his visa that i was one of five americans that he ultimately had saved in combat all from different tours. and as a result of that, the taliban decided to put him on the top of their hit list. people i had never heard of before, said that guy saved my life in 2009. that guy saved my life in 2007. what do you need me to do to help out? >> janis shinnwari eventually made it to the u.s. and lives in northern virginia near de zelle. he spends his free time volunteering with no one left behind. >> some families just arrived here last week and need everything. they have flog. they only came with one suitcase per person. >> you like this one? >> we come on weekends. and load our trucks. and deliver items to them. >> the u.s. government's policy is to treat these afghans much like any refugees, providing 90 days of assistance, contracting with charities to supply housing, furniture, employment and other services. and for eight months, they are eligible for food stamps and medicaid. >> there is agency brought them some stuff with one or two couches with couple dishes and they charge them money and we, our organization, no one left behind we don't charge them money. >> he's been in for a year, okay? >> zeller says the resettlement agencies are overburdened, under funded and receive few real services. >> i'm talking about a guy who ever night sets outs a trap to catch the mice that run over him and his wife and his kids when they sleep and when he gets up there's usually six dead mice every night. >> the apartments in riverdale maryland are home to many afghan refugees. he and his wife and daughter have been living here for nearly six months in an apartment that is infested with mice. >> in this picture you see the drops of rats in the carpet. and you see the black drops from a rat. >> "america tonight" spoke with alert bartlett director of the office of refugee admission at the state department. >> there are some instances where people have had such difficulty adjusting one has gone back to afghanistan, one has led to death. >> it is a tragedy that one we don't like to hear about and we know about afghans and iraqis people have returned from time to time and making the transition is not easy. >> many of them have done what amounts to multiple tours of combat duty. are they entitled as something else, to be treated as veterans? >> congress did not decide that that was an entitlement. congress when they legislated this program in 2008, decided they were entitled to come to the united states to receive transitional benefits and to receive an opportunity to number 1 be sav safe and create a new e for themselves and their families. >> each has a binder of commendations and letters of praise and thanks from u.s. military commanders. it is these kinds of recommendations says larry bartlett that should help the refugees get jobs. the reality say the translators is those doing the hiring usually have no interest in their service or the help they gave the u.s. military during that long war. >> reporter: you have the recommendations of the officers you served with. >> yes, have a bunch of recommendations. >> does its make a difference? >> doesn't make a difference. it is just a piece of paper for me right now. >> why should these afghanistan get anything more than any other who come here's? they emigrate here every day. >> they are veterans, they bled next to us, they died alongside of us. they have more than earned their spot in this country and they have certainly earned more than a welcome to america, good luck got speed and theen swif then ak in the ass. >> as of khan, he may be one of the lucky ones. an american raisemoney on his behalf. >> they came to help me. >> i wish i could return the favor. >> and for afghan friends he found two part time jobs. as a security guard and as a pizza deliver person. just enough to make ends meet. they may find america's cold welcome. >> maintain's sheila macvicar. the challenge is still ahead of them. >> months later these folks are just barre barely managing to s. this program there are about 3,000 visas left in this program. there are currently 13,000 applicants. >> oh my goodness. >> and u.s. forces are back in iraq. what does that mean? it means you have more support staff and more translators both in iraq and in afghanistan. the president has made clear, the situation isn't one he feels the u.s. having spent all that blood and structure walked away from. you can see why, with developments there in recent weeks. >> in the past few days, some of the things we see indicate this is a very fragile environment. >> kunduz, the fighting in kunduz between the afghan national forces and the taliban, and the assistance of the u.s. forces to hem push the tables n taliban back. a group of people probably former taliban who have now allied themselves to i.s.i.s, the islamic state, who are fighting under the black banner ever i.s.i.s, have reported all kinds of crooults we hav crueltd iraq. >> a lot more reason for concern, thus the administration's decision. next safe strikes, the unintended victims. later, a place of death and life. we get an extraordinary view of the place they call home. >> we fast-forward now with the second look at forgotten victims. a technology driven approach to conflict resolution may be saving more americans, keeping those forces out of harm's way. but lives, innocent victims are at risk. we visit a man who suffered the consequences of fire from above. it was late summer in eastern yemen, the year 2012, the entire village of kashamir gathered to watch him get matter. led the men in celebration. just two days later, both selem and walid were dead. the yemeni government said they had been killed by a u.s. drone strike. >> translator: we heard three or four massive explosions. rockets hitting from the sky. and we hurried up towards the mosque and found them. body parts all over the place. it was a dark and disastrous day. >> the yemeni government concluded the strike was what it called a u.s. mistake. one that provoked a furious backlash with an already-fragile u.s. ally. in time protests died down. but still grieving a year later, jaber said he took his search for answers to washington. >> translator: we were trying to directly find an explanation for what happened and why this car was hit when selem and walid were there. why now, what exactly took place in the moment, we need transparency, we needed answers. the war planes are still there overhead and no one knows who's likely to be the next victim. >> but jaber says he left washington with few answers about a program most americans don't even know much about. fast-forward now to an explosive new report about drone strikes. the online publication the intercept, newly released reports that shed light, they indicate the pentagon reclassified civilians as enemies in casualty counts. next, a view of life among the dead. we get an insider's look at no place like home. and capital crime. next week on "america tonight," once on the list of our most dangerous cities, washington, d.c. worked its way off the top but now correspondent lisa fletcher finds a crime spike threatens to plunge the country's capital into a new string of violence, on "america tonight." >> there is little time and little that can be done to ease what is likely to be a full assault on the philippines which expects another supertyphoonto o strike next week. in sabu city many which saw the leading edge of typhoon hyan just a few months ago. the unlikely pairing of life aunder death. >> the caretta cemetery is the final resting place for many who live in manila, the philippines. coffins stacked on top of each other, others are broken, the cemetery overflowing. but it wasn't the newly depart they'd i come to see. where the graves here may supply oresting place for the dead, they also provide one for living. the filipinos who live here are known by many derogatory names. skeletons. zombies, the cemetery people. but forest ter an for esther an, it is a place they can call home over the past 30 years, three generations of esther's family have lived on this tiny corner of the cemetery. she makes a living from the dead. turning wax scraped from graves to candles. selling flowers to mourners and helping to seal the graves of new arrivals with cement. on agood day this will earn her just over a dollar. esther is just one of thousands of filipinos who live, work, play, and eventually grow old mung the mausoleums and crypts of the cemeteries. witlack of affordable housing is trapping many in poverty. but in a country where hundreds of millions of dollars meant for the poor end up being embezzled it often falls to private individuals and organizations to help those falling in the shadows. >> it's bad, very, very bad. >> working for a christian aid organization, she knows nearly everyone in the cemetery. when she makes her rounds, the enormity of her challenge is clear. this woman is just 38 years old. >> so she got ten children and the change is underway. >> to help break up that cycle of poverty, the christian organization has set up day cares and schools inside the cemetery. >> if those children are being exposed to school at an early age they have the funds to persevere. so the best option is to open a school right where they are. to bring their education right at their door steps. >> she helps to feed the hungry children three times a week. gives out scholarships to talented students, even gives them cash to help make ends meet. she finds many who still struggle to escape their roots. this woman, macarena received a scholarship from this group to attend university. >> she already got two children. it is very frustrating when, in the end they would fall in love and then they forget tall values. they forget all the issues and they end up having children at very young age. >> the issue is ongoing. >> when i finish my studies i want to be a teacher and i want to help the children in writing, regent. >> she grew up in caretta cemetery praying that some day she'd escape. a few years ago her prayers were answered, thanks to a program of low income housing that she helped to create. she and her family moved from a shelter of cardboard and plastic to here. more important, security. something as simple as having a roof over her head has allowed her to thrive. she's attending university to become a teacher and in her spare time, volunteers at the school inside caretta cemetery. >> you enjoy it? >> yes. i enjoy it. >> as for roy tizon she will continue to work in the cemetery. >> i find my work fulfilling. of course it is frustrating but it is fulfilling. it is very nice, i really like it very much my work. >> al jazeera, sabu city the philippines. >> that is "america tonight." please tell us what you think at aljazeera.com/americatonight. we'll have more of "america tonight," tomorrow. >> i'm ali velshi. "on target" tonight, solving the middle east peace pulls with the israelis and palestinians why both sides now mistrust america's leadership. the middle east is consumed by violence and president obama's foreign policy is coming undone in iraq, yemen and syria. but the palestinians and the the israelis, clashes in the wawrinka have killed at least 39 palestinians and eight israelis and counting. despite a