Zainullah “Zak” Zaki is one of nine children and was raised by a subsistence farmer in eastern Afghanistan. Zak served as an interpreter for the U.S. forces during the war in Afghanistan with the Third Battalion, Fifth Marines in Helmand Province beginning in 2010, and later worked for the U.S. government in Kunar Province from 2012 to 2014. After more than six years battling bureaucracy with Major Tom Schueman as his advocate, Zak successfully immigrated to America with his family in 2021. He is currently awaiting a final ruling on his immigration status and working in construction in San Antonio, Texas.