WHEREAS, Mohammad Gulab is an Afghan villager who lived in the mountains of Kunar province in northeastern Afghanistan; and
WHEREAS, During a Taliban ambush attack in June of 2005, Gulab rescued Marcus Luttrell, a U.S. Navy SEAL, who was gravely wounded on the mountains with a cracked vertebrae and shrapnel wounds to his legs and safely took Luttrell to his village and protected him from the Taliban; and
WHEREAS, Gulab considered it his sacred duty under the tribal code of honor known as Pashtunwali, which mandates Pashtuns to protect anyone in need; and
WHERAS, Luttrell was the only one of four Navy SEALS to survive the fight in northeastern Afghanistan in June of 2005; and
WHEREAS, Gulab's story was depicted in the movie 'Lone Survivor' that premiered in 2013; and
WHEREAS, The Taliban are actively hunting for Gulab and his family, and the hunt has intensified since the premier of the movie; and
WHEREAS, Gulab and several of his family members left Afghanistan in January of 2015 to an undisclosed, neutral third country after receiving death threats and having their house burned down; and
WHEREAS, Gulab is seeking asylum in the United States according to his lawyer Michael Wildes, a New York immigration attorney; and
WHEREAS, Gulab needs refugee status to enter the United States and apply for asylum; and
WHEREAS, The assertive promotion of heroism and loyalty honors American values and protects the interests of the United States; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby expresses support for Mohammad Gulab and urges that the United States Department of Homeland Security offer Gulab and his family political asylum in the United States.
End