With amputated legs, Hamidullah supports his family of six

TALOQAN (Pajhwok): Hamidullah served as a solider in the Ministry of Defense (MoD) in the previous government for nearly a decade until 2017 when he lost both his legs to a blast and has been supporting his family.

The 33-year-old ex-soldier from northeastern Badakhshan province has been living in Takhar since many years. In 2008 he joined the army due to economic problems.

Hamidullah said: “After serving for about nine years in 2017 when Nad Ali district of Helmand province fell into the hands of the then militants, I was sent on a mission from Kabul to Helmand. It was night when we reached Nad Ali district and on the way, I stepped on a roadside bomb that exploded and severed my both legs.”

He recalled it was the hardest moment when he lost his legs. The blast disabled him and he was in a coma for about one and a half months and now with his legs amputated, supporting a family is the most difficult responsibility.

He said he was struggling economically to support a family of six. He lives in a rented house.

Pajhwok Afghan News reporter Mohammad Yasin Joya in Takhar talked to Hamidullah riding a wheelchair on road in Taloqan city. With a weak body and amputated legs, sweat shone on his forehead. He has disheveled hair and a smiling face. His laughter, however, hid a world of pain and suffering he inherited from the war.

Joya said: “After completing a news story for Pajhwok, I was walking on one of the roads in Taloqan city when I saw a man crossing a crowded road. Passing this road was not an easy task for him.”

“I called him that I would like to talk to you for a moment, he said yes with a big smile. Hamidullah said he felt he knew me. I asked him what conditions he was facing, he sank into deep thought for a moment and said: “The war has taken away my youth and my beautiful body, that’s the story of my life.”

At that moment, Hamidullah was not ready to give an interview: “Now the weather is hot, I will call you and I have stories for you.”

Pajhwok reporter says: “After four days, Hamidullah telephoned me that he was ready for an interview. We went to his house in Sheikhabad area, which is located a few kilometers from Taloqan city. Hamidullah’s four children were waiting for their father to arrive. This time he was not alone and I was with him. He first asked his children if they went to school today or not, then he introduced me to them and said that your uncle has come to interview me.”

He says: “Seven years have passed since I was injured, moments that are not pleasant for me and every minute is spent with difficulty. During the previous government, I was paid 200,000 afghanis annually, which could solve a part of my life’s problems; But after the political change in the country, my allowance has been reduced from 200,000 afghanis to 60,000 afghanis, it is not paid on time and I cannot provide for the expenses of a family of six.”

According to Hamidullah, now his biggest wish is permanent peace in the country so that no one becomes a victim anymore.

This war victim is deprived literacy, but one of his dreams is the education of his four children. He said he spared no effort to present his children to the society as useful citizens.

Hamidullah doubted transparency in the distribution of aid by aid organizations, saying the aid should reach needy and deserving people.

sa/ma

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