Getting By on An Arm and a Leg

Italian physiotherapist Alberto Cairo dedicates his life to helping Afghan amputees

Alberto Cairo, who immigrated to Afghanistan for humanitarian reasons, has an unusual job. Over the past 13 years he's made arms and legs for this country, a country raped by history and by ethnic hatred. Meek-eyed Cairo left Ceva, in the region of Piedmont, to go looking for work abroad, leaving behind the legal profession to become a physiotherapist. "I was looking for a way to be useful to my fellow human beings," he said on one of his rare trips home.
We met him in Capodarco di Fermo, where he was lecturing at a workshop organized by the Redattore Sociale news agency. Its 10th edition was devoted to "fly-by" journalism, the media equivalent of fast food restaurants, giving flavour but no substance.
That's where Cairo, who runs the orthopedic project of International Red Cross, stepped down from his podium and recounted his Afghanistan, and the abandonment syndrome. He spoke of the help that came during the emergency, but dried up before development could start; of the slow, unstoppable agony of NGOs, whose Kabul offices are closing one after another for lack of funds.
"Yet," he insists, "the emergency in Afghanistan is far from over. Opium production is in full swing, and after that the manufacture of prosthetics is the largest industry."
He attempted to use numbers for explaining the ghastly situation of a hopeless country that nonetheless clings to life. The economy is down 25 percent, a kilogram of opium costs $200, and the Red Cross makes 14,000 prosthetic limbs per year. The country has nine million unexploded landmines, which make for a silent humanitarian catastrophe. Most of Cairo's patients are children or farmers who stepped on antipersonnel mines. But diseases also ravage these people, especially poliomyelitis, whose effects last for life. Twenty percent of children die before turning five.
We listened in awe, while the 'Kabul angel' never lost his sad smile. Yet, a solution must exist. From December 7 to 10, the Loya Jirga, the traditional assembly of Afghan tribal lords, held a meeting. "It is a very important and very delicate moment," he underscored, "as they will discuss the new Constitution, and therefore the birth of the new State. At the same time, there are many dark clouds gathering, because the warlords are still in arms, opium production is high, and ethnic clashes are constant."
But the worst thing is the total lack of personnel able to lead the country to change: teachers, professionals, and politicians. President Hamid Karzai, who's considered the only man who can keep Afghanistan together, "is doing what he can," said Cairo. "But he can't do much."
Taliban elements, mostly Pashtu, will never accept any authority from non-Talibans. Moreover, the southeast of the country is completely outside the rule of the central government. However, there can be hope; there must be hope. Many people, who lost a leg but not their mind, send out this message. They go out and live, one day at a time, with the help of the Red Cross orthopedic centres. Cairo proudly mentioned the 'positive discrimination' applied in their hospitals, "We only hire disabled people. At present, our staff includes 450 of them."
"However," he continued, "if an amputee child cannot go to school, we supply teachers who will visit at home, and they will be amputees as well." This is a good king of 'discrimination', which conserves resources and helps maimed people rebuild their lives. Cairo revealed that he knocked on many doors of many embassies, convincing people to hire the victims of the folly of war.
He's also experimenting with honour loans. "When rehab is over, we ask our friends about their projects, their dreams. We help them as much as we can, but not with charity. We extend them interest-free loans of up to $200, to be paid back in 18 installments. About 91 percent of them respect the deadlines." In Kabul alone, 2,200 small businesses have started this way.
Finally, considering Italy and its sad immigration policy, he gave advice to all those who left their land. "Every one of us carries a patrimony, which can enrich the place of arrival. That's the key. We must try and let our best traits come out. We shouldn't expect to get rich by taking only."

Publication Date: 2003-12-14
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3463