OPINION: The US army has a sacred rule: leave no man, or woman, behind.

The principle of taking care of each other - no matter the cost - is deeply embedded in the military.

Jawed Yousufi was left behind.

And now the New Zealand government is refusing to help him.

Last year Yousufi fled his home in Afghanistan after repeated death threats from the Taleban.

They'd learned of his work alongside Kiwi soldiers. He'd volunteered for four years as an aide and informal interpreter for the Defence Force's Provincial Reconstruction Team in Bamiyan, helping soldiers give informal English lessons to local civilians as part of their mission to win 'hearts and minds'. 

But after the Defence Force withdrew in 2013, the Taleban returned. Yousufi was beaten, and when the insurgents demanded protection money, he gave everything he, and his family, had.

It wasn't enough, and Yousufi and his wife Kamela left the country, running to Turkey, where they are now stranded. They know no-one there, can't get work and Kamela, 32, is desperately ill.

The stress caused her to lose their first child.

• The SAS is telling a Government inquiry a story, and it's not going well
• It'll be years before NZ's firing ranges in Afghanistan are safe
• Blast from NZ firing range ammunition kills Afghan children
• Russian on NZDF : 'No reason for us to react

​Last year, out of desperation, Yousufi appealed to the New Zealand government.

More than 100 official interpreters were resettled in New Zealand because their work put them at risk from the Taleban. Some gained citizenship.

As a volunteer, Yousufi wasn't eligible for asylum. But officials working for Defence Minister Ron Mark identified a loophole.

Nine Afghan interpreters and 26 family members, who fell outside resettlement policies, were brought to New Zealand in a special deal in 2013.

Mark's office asked the couple to apply to Immigration NZ under the same scheme. Two senior Defence Force officers wrote letters of support.

But for nine months, they have been left in limbo, hiding on the Black Sea Coast. Every day Yousufi would check his emails - but they received just one, brusque letter in that time.

Last week, just days after inquiries from Stuff, associate immigration minister Poto Williams finally sent a two-line letter. 

It's cold. "I am not prepared to intervene in your case to grant residence to you and your wife," she wrote.

It was devastating and their situation now seems hopeless. Kamela cries frequently, and her husband struggles to find the money for her medical care. Their only option now is to register as refugees with the United Nations.

It will be many years before they are resettled - and it's unlikely that will be in New Zealand. 

Williams refused to answer any questions about the case, or offer any explanation for the rejection. According to her spokesman, minister's are not required to give reasons and this has been the long standing practice.

Yousufi risked everything to help Kiwi soldiers, who were in Afghanistan for a humanitarian mission.

The callous dismissal of his appeal for sanctuary is a terrible betrayal.