Alberto Cairo, works as a physiotherapist for Red Cross. In 1990 he found himself in Afghanistan and has remained there ever since. He arrived from Africa to run the orthopedic center in Kabul. In over 2 decades in the country he has helped more than 100,000 Afghanis and is a beloved figure loved by all including the Taliban. In the early days when fighting used to break out the center used to close down, but not any more. Alberto provides the story of how the change came about.
Once when the fighting had broken out and the center was closed Alberto became involved in food distribution. One day when returning from a food distribution assignment he heard a bomb fall in a nearby field. He saw everybody scatter and the street empty out. All except one man in a wheelchair and a boy who was pushing his wheel chair. Afraid for his own life but with no other options, Alberto rushed out of his car and helped the boy and the man in the wheel chair to safety. He then learnt that the name of the man was Mahmood and the boy, his son, was Rafeeq. Mahmood was missing two legs and an arm. In the heat of the moment Alberto promised Mahmood to reopen the orthopedic center and help him get new prosthetics. No sooner Mahmood had left Alberto realized his mistake. There was no way he could single-handedly reopen the center and help Mahmood. Continue reading
