There are no scraps of men Alberto Cairo

I have been in Afghanistan for 21 years

I work for the Red Cross and I’m a

physiotherapist my job is to make arms

and legs well it’s not completely true

we do more than that we provide the

patient so they afghan disabled first

with the physical rehabilitation then

with the social reintegration it’s a

very logical plan but it was not always

like this for many as we were just

providing them with artificial limbs it

took quite many years before the program

for the program to become what it is now

today I would like to to tell you a

story the story of a big change and the

story of the people who made this change

possible i arrived in afghanistan in

1992 work in a hospital for war victims

and then not only for war victims that

it was for any kind of patient I was

also working in the orthopedic center we

call it like this is the place where we

make the legs at the time I found myself

in a strange situation I i felt quite

not ready for that job there was so much

to learn there were so many things new

to me but it was a terrific job but as

soon as the fight intensified the

physical rehabilitation was suspended

there were many other things to do so

the orthopedic center was closed because

physical rehabilitation was not

considered a priority it was it was a

strange sensation anyway you know every

time I make this speech is not the first

time that is is an emotion is something

that comes comes out from the pastor’s

21 years but they are still all there

any way in 1992 the MU J Dean took all

Afghanistan and the orthopedic center

was closed I was assigned to work for

the homeless for the internally

displaced people but one day something

happened I was coming back from a big

food distribution in a mosque where

thousand aware tens and tens of people

were squatting in terrible condition I

wanted to go home I was driving and you

know when you want to forget you don’t

want to see things you just want to go

to your room to lock yourself inside and

and said that’s enough a bomb fell not

far from my car what far enough but big

noise and and everybody disappear from

the street the cars disappeared as well

I a doctor and only one figure remain in

the middle of day of the road was a man

on a wheelchair desperately trying to to

move away well I’m not a particularly

brave person I have to confess it but

but but i could not just ignore him so i

stopped the car and died I I went to

help the man was without legs and only

without with one arm behind him there

was a child his son the red in the face

in the effort to push the father so I

took him to a safe place and and I asked

what are you doing out in the street in

this in this situation I work he said I

wonder what work and then I asked even

more stupid question why you don’t have

their prosthesis why don’t you don’t

have the artificial legs and he said the

Red Cross has closed well without

thinking

told him come tomorrow we will provide

you with a pair of legs the man his name

was a Mahmoud and the child names was a

ruffie left and then I said oh my god

what did I say um the center is closed

no staff around maybe the machinery

broken who is going to make the legs for

him so I hoped that he would not he

would not come this is the streets of

Kabul in those days so I I said well i

will give him some money and so the

following day I went to the optical

center and I spoke with a gatekeeper I

was ready to tell him listen if someone

such-and-such comes tomorrow comes

please tell him that there was a mistake

nothing can be done give him some money

and Mahmoud and his son were already

there and they were not alone there were

15 maybe 20 people like him waiting and

there were some stuff too among them

there was my right-hand man Nadine and

the gatekeeper to me they come every day

to see if the center would open I said

no is that we have to we have to go away

we cannot stay here they were bomb being

not very close but you could hear the

noise of the bomb so we cannot stay here

is dangerous it’s not a priority but not

even told me listen now we are here at

least we can start the repairing the

prosthesis the broken processes of the

people and maybe try to do something for

people like Mahmoud and I said no

pleased we don’t we cannot do that it’s

it’s really it’s dangerous we have other

things to do but they insist it when you

have 20 people in front of you looking

at you and you are the one who have to

the side so we started doing some

repairs also one of the physiotherapist

reported that

Mahmoud could be provided with lag but

not immediately the legs were swollen

and the knees were stiff so he needed a

long preparation believe me I was

worried because I was breaking the rules

I was doing something that I was not

supposed to do in the evening I went to

to speak with the bosses at the

headquarter and I told them I lied I

told them listen we are going to start a

couple of hours per day just a few

repairs maybe some of them is here now

so we we started i was working i was

going every day to work in day for day

homeless and nigel deen was a staying

there doing everything and reporting on

the patient it was telling me patients

are coming what we knew that many more

patient could not come prevent it by the

fight but people were coming and Mahmoud

was coming every day and slowly slowly

week after week his legs were improving

but the stump where cast prostate is

made and he was starting the real

physical rehabilitation he was coming

every day crossing the front line a

couple of times I crossed the front line

in the very place where mcmullen the Sun

were crossing I tell you was something

so sinister that I was astonished we

could do it every day but finally the

great day arrived machmood was going to

be discharged with these new legs it was

apron I remember a very beautiful day

apron in Kabul is beautiful full of

roses full of flowers we could not stay

possibly indoors with all these sandbags

that the windows very sad dark so we

choose a small spot in the garden and

Mahmoud Putin is prosthesis the other

patients did the same and they started

practicing for the last time before I

mean discharge suddenly they started

fighting two groups of Mujahideen

started side if we could year one in on

the air in the air that the bullet

passing so we dashed all of us towards

day the shelter Mahmoud grabbed the Sun

I grabbed someone else everybody was

grabbing something and we run you know

50 meters can be a long distance if you

are totally exposed but we managed to

reach the shelter inside all of us

panting SAT a moment and I heard Rafi

telling his father father you can run

faster than me and mock murder of course

i can i can run and now you can go to

school no need of staying with me all

the day pushing my wheelchair later on

we took them home and i will never

forget Mahmoud and the Sun walking

together pushing the empty wheelchair

and then I understood physical

rehabilitation is a priority dignity

cannot wait for better times well I met

from that day on we never close a single

day well sometime we suspended for a few

hours so that we never we never close it

again I met Mahmoud one year later they

was in good shape a bit thinner I needed

to change his prosthesis a new pair of

prosthesis I asked about his son it only

means that school is doing quite well

but I understood they wanted to tell me

something so I I asked him what is that

he was a sweating it was clearly

embarrassed and it was a standing in

front of me is a head down

he said you you have taught me to walk

thank you very much now help me not to

be a beggar anymore that was the job my

children are growing I feel ashamed I

don’t want them to be teased at school

by the other students I said okay I I

thought how much money have in my pocket

just giving someone is the easiest way I

read my mind and he said I asked for a

job and then he added something I will

never forget for the rest of my life he

said I am a scrap of a man but if you

help me I’m ready to do anything even if

I have to crawl on the ground and then

he sat down i sat down to with the

goosebumps everywhere and legless with

only one arm illiterate unskilled what

what job for him Ned Julian told me well

we have a vacancy in the carpentry shop

we we get what I said stop well yeah

with we need to increase the production

of feet we need someone to employ

someone to glue and the screw the soul

of day of defeat we need to increase the

production excuse me I could not believe

underneath and now we can we can we can

modify the day the workbench maybe to

put a special stool a special anvil

especial vice and maybe an electrical

screwdrivers

I said listen that’s it’s insane and is

even cruel to think of anything like

this that’s a production line and the

very first one it’s cruel to offer him a

job knowing that is going to fail

between Nashville Dean we cannot discuss

so the only things I could manage to

obtain was a kind of compromise only one

week one week try not a single day more

one week later Mahmoud was the fastest

in the production line I told my GED

that’s a trick I can’t believe it the

production was twenty percent up it’s a

trick it’s a trick I said and then I

asked for a verification it was because

true the comment of night within was a

Mahmoud as something to prove I

understood that I was wrong again

Mahmoud looked taller I remember him

sitting behind the day workbench a

smiling then it was a new man told her

again of course and I understood that

what made him stand tall yeah where the

legs yes thank you very much but as a

first step it was the dignity he has

regained is fully dignity thanks to that

job so of course I understood and then

we start to the new policy and you

policy completely different now we

decided to employ as many disabled as

possible to train them in any possible

job it became a policy of positive

discrimination we call it now and and

you know what it’s good for everybody

everybody benefits from that those

employed of course because because they

get a job and dignity but also for the

newcomers there are seven thousand

every year people come in for the first

time and you should see the face of

these people when they realize that

those assisting them are like them some

time you see them they look oh and you

see the face and then and the surprise

turns into into hope and is easy for me

as well to train someone who has already

passed through the experience of

disability poof they learn much faster

the motivation the empathy they can

establish with the patient is completely

different completely scrap of men do not

exist people like Mahmoud are agents of

change and when you start changing you

you you you cannot stop so employing

people yes but also we started

programming projects of microfinance

education and when you start you cannot

stop so you do vocational training home

education for those who cannot go to

school the physiotherapists can be done

not only in the orthopedic center but

also in the houses of the people there

is always a better way to do things

that’s not moody know the one with a

white coat terrible nigel deen is that

one I have learned a lot from people

like nigel deen mohammed rafi they are

my teachers I ever wish a big wish that

this way of working this way of thinking

is going to be implemented in other

countries there are plenty of countries

at war like Afghanistan it is possible

and it is not difficult all what we have

to do it’s to to listen to the people

that we are supposed to assist to make

them part of the decision-making process

and then of course to adapt this is my

my big wish well don’t think that the

changes in Afghanistan are over not at

all we are going on recently we have

just started a program a sport program

basketball for wheelchair users we

sported a wheelchair tseverywhere we

have several teams in mainly part of

Afghanistan at the beginning when when

Nadine told me we would like to start it

I hesitated I said no you can imagine I

said no no no no we can’t and then I

asked the usual question is it a

priority is it really necessary well now

you should see me I never miss a single

training session the night before a

match am very nervous and you should see

me I mean during the match I shout I

well like a true Italian watch next what

is going to be next next change I don’t

know yet but I’m sure that night routine

and these friends they have already in

mind that was my story thank you very

much

you