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