We talked today with an incredible 18-year old man, Ahmed, who had both his legs blown off when he was 10 years old. He was out at a picnic with his family and his cousin picked up a piece of metal he found on the floor. He realized too late that it was probably dangerous and threw it away – but it exploded and killed the cousin and severely injured Ahmed.
Ahmed told us that he was taken to the hospital and put on the pile of dead people. But his uncle came and saw that he was actually still alive. “But I think the doctor thought it was better to die,” Ahmed explained to us, “there is a view in Afghan culture that it’s better to be dead than to try to survive with no legs.”
Ahmed was in hospital for months. When he finally recovered, he tried to return to school. The teachers at first refused to allow him back in the classroom. “They said that they couldn’t manage with me there – they asked how they would take me to the toilet.” Ahmed, however, insisted and pointed out that Afghanistan had many people with disabilities and that they couldn’t simply be excluded from schools and public places. Ahmed then began to campaign for the rights of people with disability. He has attended conferences in Ireland, Norway and France. He intends to the visit the US later this year. He is campaigning for Afghanistan to sign the anti-landmine treaty and to ban to use of cluster munitions. “I am a clear example of the way cluster munitions destroy the lives of civilians,” he told us. “Innocent people should not have to suffer like this.”
Ahmed told us that he was taken to the hospital and put on the pile of dead people. But his uncle came and saw that he was actually still alive. “But I think the doctor thought it was better to die,” Ahmed explained to us, “there is a view in Afghan culture that it’s better to be dead than to try to survive with no legs.”
Ahmed was in hospital for months. When he finally recovered, he tried to return to school. The teachers at first refused to allow him back in the classroom. “They said that they couldn’t manage with me there – they asked how they would take me to the toilet.” Ahmed, however, insisted and pointed out that Afghanistan had many people with disabilities and that they couldn’t simply be excluded from schools and public places. Ahmed then began to campaign for the rights of people with disability. He has attended conferences in Ireland, Norway and France. He intends to the visit the US later this year. He is campaigning for Afghanistan to sign the anti-landmine treaty and to ban to use of cluster munitions. “I am a clear example of the way cluster munitions destroy the lives of civilians,” he told us. “Innocent people should not have to suffer like this.”
No comments:
Post a Comment