One Step Beyond – Afghanistan – People – Nazeer Gul
Nazeer Gul
My name is Nazeer Gul. My father's name is Dad Muhammad. I'm from the village Hassan Khail in the Karghayi district of Laghman Province.
I'm thirty-five years old. Currently I'm jobless. Before the injury I was a farmer.
About eight years ago I stepped on the mine. I was on the way with friends to get ablution. It was a narrow path alongside the Kabul River. It leads through the fields and is heads toward Hudkhel-e Kabul. The side of the path was marked with red stones, which is the warning sign for mined areas. On that path, close to a forest, I stepped on a mine. As it was the way to my fields I'd walked that path many times before.
But on that day I was careless and left the narrow but safe track between the stones for awhile. And not far from there I stepped on the mine. When the mine exploded, a lot of dust was blown into the air. A moment later I realized that I had been thrown away and injured.
I hadn't been walking alone. Some friends were in front of me, and others were walking behind me. But when the mine exploded, I was alone. The explosion flung me far away. I fainted immediately. When I woke up my right foot was badly injured. I tied the leg with a towel to stop the bleeding.
People from the village came. They looked at me and asked how it had happened. And how I got there. I told them that I'd been walking the usual path and that the explosion had flung me to where I was now.
None of them had the courage to come closer. I pleaded for help but they were too afraid. My small nephew was amongst them. He went to the village and returned with three men. They were village dwellers, no one from my family was amongst them.
They finally carried me out of the area and brought me to the Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital, where I stayed for almost forty. After my recovery, I returned home. My house was in Hudkhel, but on the day of my accident none of my family were at home. They visited me in the hospital.
Mines are buried everywhere in Afghanistan. I pray to the people to help us clear our country from mines.
Submenu:
PP Mi-Sr
Drawing:
