The delegation attended a ceremony marking Halo Trust's destruction of its
one millionth landmine in Afghanistan. The ceremony was primarily
intended to honor the Afghani technicians employed by the trust who perform
the removal and destruction. The ceremony was attended by the American
and British Ambassadors to Afghanistan. Kathy had the opportunity to
directly thank the workers for their courageous efforts. She did so by
placing her hand over her heart, which is an Afghani gesture meaning "my
heart to yours."
People all over the world are killed and maimed everyday by mines sown
during conflicts that are long over. At the present rate of removal
and destruction, it will be several generations before all the landmines
currently in the ground will be removed. For more information visit
Halo Trust's Web site at www.halotrust.org
and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (awarded the 1997 Nobel
Peace Price) at www.icbl.org.
The delegation also met with an eight-year-old mine victim, a boy named
Nasrullah, and his family at their home. Nasrullah was critically
wounded when a friend picked up a cluster bomblet while they were on their way
to school. The friend was killed. With little capability to treat
major trauma in Afghanistan, Nasrullah faced the possibility of multiple limb
amputations. A German relief organization stepped in and paid to
transport and treat Nasrullah in Germany and his limbs were saved.
Nasrullah still faces considerable rehabilitation. He told the
delegates, "If I grow up to be like you, I will be able to help
Afghanistan and I will be golden."
The delegation has also visited a village near Kabul where the United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has set up primary schools for boys and girls
under tents. The girls attend in the morning and the boys in the
afternoon. Kathy visited when the boys were in session. She had
packed several boxes of inexpensive ballpoint pens to take with her to
Afghanistan to give as gifts. She gave one to each of the boys and they
used their new pens to sign their names in her travel journal.
The delegation visited a repatriation camp for returning refugees and were
dismayed by the appalling conditions and desperation of the refugees. Of
particular concern was a women who was still hemorrhaging after giving birth
three days earlier because there was no medical care available for her.
The group also went to a mosque that was damaged during the United States
bombing campaign. The mosque is the subject of an internationally funded
building campaign. Next on the delegation's agenda is visiting a
children's hospital.
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