1 00:00:15,991 --> 00:00:18,475 Good evening everybody. 2 00:00:19,055 --> 00:00:22,885 It's true. I have been in Afghanistan for 21 years. 3 00:00:22,885 --> 00:00:24,532 I work for the Red Cross, 4 00:00:24,532 --> 00:00:28,551 and I'm a physiotherapist. 5 00:00:29,499 --> 00:00:33,076 My job is to make arms and legs. 6 00:00:33,076 --> 00:00:34,650 Well, it's not completely true. 7 00:00:34,650 --> 00:00:37,114 We do more than that. 8 00:00:38,054 --> 00:00:41,788 We provide the patients, the Afghan disabled, 9 00:00:41,788 --> 00:00:44,463 first with physical rehabilitation, 10 00:00:44,463 --> 00:00:47,775 then with social reintegration. 11 00:00:47,775 --> 00:00:50,433 It's a very logical plan, 12 00:00:50,433 --> 00:00:52,773 but it was not always like this. 13 00:00:52,773 --> 00:00:55,018 For many years, we were just providing them 14 00:00:55,018 --> 00:00:57,793 with artificial limbs. 15 00:00:57,793 --> 00:00:59,944 It took quite many years 16 00:00:59,944 --> 00:01:04,455 for the program to become what it is now. 17 00:01:06,295 --> 00:01:10,547 Today, I would like to tell you a story, 18 00:01:10,925 --> 00:01:12,965 the story of a big change, 19 00:01:12,965 --> 00:01:16,991 and the story of the people who made this change possible. 20 00:01:19,064 --> 00:01:23,934 I arrived in Afghanistan in 1990, 21 00:01:25,128 --> 00:01:30,213 to work in a hospital for war victims, 22 00:01:32,724 --> 00:01:35,024 And then, not only for war victims; 23 00:01:35,024 --> 00:01:38,605 it was for any kind of patients. 24 00:01:40,345 --> 00:01:46,184 At that time, I found myself in a strange situation. 25 00:01:46,184 --> 00:01:50,802 I felt not quite ready for that job. 26 00:01:50,802 --> 00:01:54,023 There was so much to learn. 27 00:01:54,023 --> 00:01:55,765 There were so many things new to me, 28 00:01:55,765 --> 00:01:57,853 but it was a terrific job. 29 00:01:57,853 --> 00:02:01,753 I was also working in the orthopaedic center, 30 00:02:01,753 --> 00:02:05,506 We call it like this. It's the place where we make the legs. 31 00:02:05,506 --> 00:02:08,374 And, I said, it was fantastic 32 00:02:08,374 --> 00:02:12,070 but there was something strange. 33 00:02:12,409 --> 00:02:15,369 As soon as the fight intensified, 34 00:02:16,493 --> 00:02:19,449 the physical rehabilitation was suspended. 35 00:02:19,449 --> 00:02:21,783 There were many other things to do, 36 00:02:21,783 --> 00:02:25,208 so the orthopaedic center was closed, 37 00:02:25,978 --> 00:02:31,353 because physical rehabilitation was not considered a priority. 38 00:02:36,021 --> 00:02:38,865 It was a strange sensation. 39 00:02:38,865 --> 00:02:43,066 Anyway, I was working -- 40 00:02:43,066 --> 00:02:46,727 sorry I'm a bit confused. (Sigh) 41 00:02:47,717 --> 00:02:50,179 You know, every time I make this speech, -- 42 00:02:50,179 --> 00:02:52,564 this is not the first time -- it's an emotion, 43 00:02:52,564 --> 00:02:56,333 it's something that comes out from the past. 44 00:02:56,333 --> 00:02:59,539 It's been 21 years, but it's still all there. 45 00:02:59,539 --> 00:03:06,143 Anyway. In 1992 the Mujahideen took all Afghanistan, 46 00:03:06,413 --> 00:03:09,643 and the orthopaedic center was closed. 47 00:03:09,643 --> 00:03:14,311 I was assigned to work for the homeless, 48 00:03:14,311 --> 00:03:17,659 for the internally displaced people. 49 00:03:19,169 --> 00:03:21,519 The orthopaedic center was closed, 50 00:03:21,519 --> 00:03:27,473 and... (Sigh) It was a very strange sensation. 51 00:03:28,137 --> 00:03:31,825 But one day, something happened. 52 00:03:32,485 --> 00:03:38,093 I was coming back from a big food distribution in a mosque, 53 00:03:38,093 --> 00:03:42,893 where tens and tens of people were squatting 54 00:03:42,893 --> 00:03:45,390 in terrible conditions. 55 00:03:45,390 --> 00:03:47,197 I wanted to go home, I was driving, 56 00:03:47,197 --> 00:03:50,624 and, you know, when you want to forget, 57 00:03:50,624 --> 00:03:52,154 you don't want to see things. 58 00:03:52,154 --> 00:03:54,304 You just want to go to your room 59 00:03:54,304 --> 00:03:58,655 to lock yourself inside, and say, "That's enough." 60 00:03:59,487 --> 00:04:02,805 A bomb fell, not far from my car -- 61 00:04:02,805 --> 00:04:05,493 well, far enough, but [making a] big noise. 62 00:04:05,493 --> 00:04:09,724 And everybody disappeared from the street. 63 00:04:09,724 --> 00:04:12,409 The cars disappeared as well. 64 00:04:12,409 --> 00:04:16,691 I docked, and only one figure remained 65 00:04:16,691 --> 00:04:19,013 in the middle of the road. 66 00:04:19,013 --> 00:04:21,075 It was a man on a wheelchair, 67 00:04:21,075 --> 00:04:24,395 desperately trying to move away. 68 00:04:26,598 --> 00:04:28,659 Well, I'm not a particularly brave person, 69 00:04:28,659 --> 00:04:30,913 I have to confess it, 70 00:04:31,895 --> 00:04:35,320 but I could not just ignore him. 71 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:37,165 So, I stopped the car, 72 00:04:37,165 --> 00:04:39,800 and I went to help. 73 00:04:40,935 --> 00:04:47,029 The man was without legs, and only with one arm. 74 00:04:47,385 --> 00:04:50,059 Behind him, there was a child, his son. 75 00:04:50,059 --> 00:04:55,663 His face was red because of his effort to push the father. 76 00:04:55,663 --> 00:04:57,924 So, I took him into a safe place, 77 00:04:57,924 --> 00:05:02,561 and I asked, "What are you doing out in the street, 78 00:05:02,561 --> 00:05:04,844 in this situation?" 79 00:05:04,844 --> 00:05:09,589 "I work", he said. I wondered, "What work?" 80 00:05:09,589 --> 00:05:12,374 And then I asked an even more stupid question, 81 00:05:12,374 --> 00:05:14,589 "Why don't you have a prosthesis?" 82 00:05:14,589 --> 00:05:17,448 Why don't you have the artificial legs? 83 00:05:17,448 --> 00:05:20,883 And he said, "The Red Cross is closed". 84 00:05:20,883 --> 00:05:23,082 Well, without thinking, 85 00:05:23,082 --> 00:05:25,461 I told him, "Come tomorrow. 86 00:05:25,461 --> 00:05:29,285 We will provide you with a pair of legs." 87 00:05:29,285 --> 00:05:32,149 The man -- his name was Mahmoud 88 00:05:32,149 --> 00:05:36,569 and the child's name was Rafi -- left. 89 00:05:36,569 --> 00:05:40,662 Then I said, "Oh my god! What did I say?" 90 00:05:40,662 --> 00:05:44,826 The center is closed, no staff around, 91 00:05:44,826 --> 00:05:48,414 maybe the machinery's broken. 92 00:05:48,414 --> 00:05:51,063 Who is going to make the legs for him?" 93 00:05:51,063 --> 00:05:55,146 So I hoped that he would not come. 94 00:05:55,146 --> 00:06:01,613 These are the streets of Kabul, in those days. 95 00:06:01,613 --> 00:06:06,805 But, so I said, "I will give him some money." 96 00:06:06,805 --> 00:06:08,151 So, the following day, 97 00:06:08,151 --> 00:06:11,084 I went to the orthopaedic center 98 00:06:11,084 --> 00:06:14,556 and I spoke with the gate keeper. 99 00:06:14,556 --> 00:06:15,766 I was ready to tell him, 100 00:06:15,766 --> 00:06:20,471 "Listen, if someone, such and such, comes tomorrow, 101 00:06:20,471 --> 00:06:22,627 please tell him that there was a mistake. 102 00:06:22,627 --> 00:06:26,192 Nothing can be done. Give him some money and..." 103 00:06:26,192 --> 00:06:29,002 But Mahmoud and his son were already there, 104 00:06:29,002 --> 00:06:30,770 and they were not alone. 105 00:06:30,770 --> 00:06:32,639 There were 15, 106 00:06:32,639 --> 00:06:36,415 maybe 20 people like him, waiting. (Laughter) 107 00:06:36,415 --> 00:06:39,779 And there was some staff too. 108 00:06:39,779 --> 00:06:44,712 Among them, there was my right-hand man, Najmuddin. 109 00:06:46,316 --> 00:06:48,645 And the gate keeper told me, 110 00:06:48,645 --> 00:06:51,940 "They come every day, to see if the center would open." 111 00:06:53,047 --> 00:06:56,562 I said, "No, we have to go away, we cannot stay here!" 112 00:06:56,562 --> 00:06:58,453 They were bombing, not very close, 113 00:06:58,453 --> 00:07:00,237 but you could hear the noise of the bombs. 114 00:07:00,237 --> 00:07:02,725 So, "We cannot stay here, it's dangerous. 115 00:07:02,725 --> 00:07:05,262 It's not a priority." 116 00:07:05,262 --> 00:07:08,492 But, Najmuddin told me, "Listen, now we're here, 117 00:07:08,492 --> 00:07:10,378 at least we can start repairing 118 00:07:10,378 --> 00:07:12,267 the broken prosthesis of the people 119 00:07:12,267 --> 00:07:16,351 and maybe try to do something for people like Mahmoud." 120 00:07:16,731 --> 00:07:18,674 I said, "No, please, we cannot do that, 121 00:07:18,674 --> 00:07:23,197 it's really dangerous, we have other things to do." 122 00:07:23,197 --> 00:07:25,331 But they insisted. 123 00:07:25,331 --> 00:07:27,977 When you have 20 people 124 00:07:27,977 --> 00:07:29,502 in front of you, looking at you, 125 00:07:29,502 --> 00:07:32,891 and you are the one who has to decide... 126 00:07:32,891 --> 00:07:35,565 So, we started doing some repairs. 127 00:07:35,565 --> 00:07:38,018 Also, one of the physiotherapists reported 128 00:07:38,018 --> 00:07:42,683 that Mahmoud could be provided with legs, 129 00:07:42,683 --> 00:07:44,415 but not immediately. 130 00:07:44,415 --> 00:07:47,795 [His] legs were swollen, and [his] knees were stiff, 131 00:07:47,795 --> 00:07:50,645 so he needed a long preparation. 132 00:07:52,460 --> 00:07:53,868 Believe me: I was worried, 133 00:07:53,868 --> 00:07:55,694 because I was breaking the rules. 134 00:07:55,694 --> 00:07:59,980 I was doing something that I was not supposed to do! 135 00:08:00,626 --> 00:08:02,583 In the evening, I went to speak 136 00:08:02,583 --> 00:08:04,790 with the bosses at the headquarters 137 00:08:04,790 --> 00:08:07,426 and I told them -- I lied -- 138 00:08:07,426 --> 00:08:10,742 I told them, "Listen, we are going to start, 139 00:08:10,742 --> 00:08:14,920 a couple of hours per day, just a few repairs..." 140 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:17,559 Maybe some of them [are] here now. 141 00:08:17,559 --> 00:08:19,421 (Laughter) 142 00:08:19,421 --> 00:08:23,624 So, we started. I was working. 143 00:08:23,624 --> 00:08:29,022 I was going every day to work for the homeless, 144 00:08:29,022 --> 00:08:30,710 and Najmuddin was staying there, 145 00:08:30,710 --> 00:08:32,677 doing everything and reporting on the patients. 146 00:08:32,677 --> 00:08:35,545 he was telling me, "Patients are coming". 147 00:08:35,545 --> 00:08:39,562 We knew that many more patients could not come 148 00:08:39,562 --> 00:08:43,128 [because of the fighting], but people were coming, 149 00:08:43,128 --> 00:08:45,615 and Mahmoud was coming everyday. 150 00:08:45,615 --> 00:08:49,762 And slowly, slowly, week after week, 151 00:08:49,762 --> 00:08:52,198 his legs were improving, 152 00:08:52,198 --> 00:08:55,608 the stumps were cast, 153 00:08:55,608 --> 00:08:57,437 [his] prosthesis was made, 154 00:08:57,437 --> 00:09:02,136 and he was starting a real physical rehabilitation. 155 00:09:02,136 --> 00:09:05,576 He was coming every day, crossing the front line. 156 00:09:05,576 --> 00:09:07,324 A couple of times, I crossed the front line 157 00:09:07,324 --> 00:09:11,174 in the very place where Mahmoud and his son were crossing. 158 00:09:11,174 --> 00:09:13,855 I tell you! It was something so sinister 159 00:09:13,855 --> 00:09:18,738 that I was astonished they could do it every day. 160 00:09:18,738 --> 00:09:23,136 But finally, the great day arrived: 161 00:09:23,136 --> 00:09:27,623 the day when Mahmoud was going to be discharged with his new legs. 162 00:09:27,623 --> 00:09:31,388 It was April, I remember, a very beautiful day. 163 00:09:31,388 --> 00:09:34,836 Kabul. April in Kabul is beautiful, 164 00:09:34,836 --> 00:09:37,663 full of roses, full of flowers. 165 00:09:37,663 --> 00:09:40,506 We could not possibly stay indoors, 166 00:09:40,506 --> 00:09:43,714 with all these sandbags in the windows. 167 00:09:43,714 --> 00:09:46,492 [It was] very sad, dark. 168 00:09:46,492 --> 00:09:49,595 So, we chose a small spot in the garden, 169 00:09:49,595 --> 00:09:52,691 and Mahmoud put on his prosthesis, 170 00:09:52,691 --> 00:09:55,836 the other patients did the same, 171 00:09:55,836 --> 00:09:58,765 and they started practicing for the last time, 172 00:09:58,765 --> 00:09:59,924 before being discharged. 173 00:09:59,924 --> 00:10:04,065 And suddenly, they started fighting. 174 00:10:04,065 --> 00:10:06,013 Two groups of Mujahiddeen started fighting. 175 00:10:06,013 --> 00:10:10,738 We could hear the bullets passing in the air. 176 00:10:10,738 --> 00:10:15,295 So we dashed, all of us, towards the shelter. 177 00:10:17,167 --> 00:10:19,285 Mahmoud grabbed his son, I grabbed someone else. 178 00:10:19,285 --> 00:10:22,235 Everybody was grabbing something. 179 00:10:22,235 --> 00:10:25,024 We ran. You know, 50 meters can be a long distance, 180 00:10:25,024 --> 00:10:26,874 if you are totally exposed, 181 00:10:26,874 --> 00:10:29,735 but we managed to reach the shelter. 182 00:10:29,735 --> 00:10:33,874 (Sigh of relief) Inside, all of us [were] panting, 183 00:10:33,874 --> 00:10:38,495 we stopped a moment, and I heard Rafi, telling his father, 184 00:10:38,495 --> 00:10:42,548 "Father, you can run, faster than me!" (Laughter) 185 00:10:42,548 --> 00:10:45,946 And Mahmoud, "Of course I can! 186 00:10:45,946 --> 00:10:49,664 I can run, and now, you can go to school. 187 00:10:49,664 --> 00:10:52,008 No need of staying with me all the day, 188 00:10:52,008 --> 00:10:53,934 pushing my wheelchair". 189 00:10:53,934 --> 00:10:56,715 Later on, we took them home, 190 00:10:56,715 --> 00:10:58,238 and I will never forget 191 00:10:58,238 --> 00:11:01,424 Mahmoud and his son, walking together, 192 00:11:01,424 --> 00:11:04,504 pushing the empty wheelchair. 193 00:11:04,504 --> 00:11:06,715 And then I understood. 194 00:11:06,715 --> 00:11:10,758 Physical rehabilitation is a priority. 195 00:11:10,758 --> 00:11:14,753 Dignity cannot wait for better times. 196 00:11:15,664 --> 00:11:20,741 Well, from that day on, we've never closed a single day. 197 00:11:20,741 --> 00:11:22,444 Well, sometimes we suspended it for a few hours, 198 00:11:22,444 --> 00:11:27,544 but we've never closed again. 199 00:11:27,544 --> 00:11:30,336 I met Mahmoud one year later. 200 00:11:30,336 --> 00:11:33,110 He was in good shape. 201 00:11:34,302 --> 00:11:36,031 A bit thinner. 202 00:11:36,581 --> 00:11:40,490 He needed to change his prosthesis, 203 00:11:40,490 --> 00:11:42,951 a new pair of prosthesis. 204 00:11:42,951 --> 00:11:44,558 I asked about his son, he told me, 205 00:11:44,558 --> 00:11:46,875 "He's at school, he's doing quite well." 206 00:11:46,875 --> 00:11:51,049 But I understood he wanted to tell me something. 207 00:11:51,049 --> 00:11:55,975 So, I asked him, "What is [it]?" 208 00:11:55,975 --> 00:12:00,640 He was sweating, he was clearly embarrassed 209 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:05,396 and he was standing in front of me, his head down. 210 00:12:06,616 --> 00:12:11,607 He said, "You have taught me to walk. 211 00:12:11,607 --> 00:12:13,670 Thank you very much. 212 00:12:13,670 --> 00:12:17,901 Now, help me not to be a beggar anymore." 213 00:12:17,901 --> 00:12:20,652 That was the job. 214 00:12:20,652 --> 00:12:24,734 "My children are growing. I feel ashamed. 215 00:12:24,734 --> 00:12:28,450 I don't want them to be teased at school, 216 00:12:28,450 --> 00:12:31,106 by the other students". 217 00:12:32,786 --> 00:12:36,053 I thought, "How much money do I have in my pocket? 218 00:12:36,053 --> 00:12:39,300 Just give him some money? It's the easiest way." 219 00:12:39,300 --> 00:12:41,270 He read my mind, 220 00:12:41,270 --> 00:12:45,737 and he said, "I ask for a job." 221 00:12:47,260 --> 00:12:49,713 And then he added something 222 00:12:50,513 --> 00:12:53,487 I will never forget for the rest of my life. 223 00:12:54,174 --> 00:13:01,629 He said, "I am a scrap of a man, but if you help me, 224 00:13:01,629 --> 00:13:04,642 I'm ready to do anything, 225 00:13:04,642 --> 00:13:08,013 even if I have to crawl on the ground". 226 00:13:09,761 --> 00:13:11,864 And then he sat down, I sat down too, 227 00:13:11,864 --> 00:13:15,130 with goose bumps everywhere. 228 00:13:20,054 --> 00:13:27,661 Legless, with only one arm, illiterate, unskilled. 229 00:13:28,761 --> 00:13:32,202 What job [could I offer] him? 230 00:13:33,864 --> 00:13:36,852 Najmuddin told me, "Well, we have a vacancy 231 00:13:36,852 --> 00:13:40,050 in the carpentry shop. We can..." 232 00:13:40,050 --> 00:13:44,010 "What?", I said. "Stop..." 233 00:13:44,010 --> 00:13:49,263 [Najmuddin]: "Well, yes, we need to increase the production of feet. 234 00:13:49,263 --> 00:13:51,157 We need to employ someone 235 00:13:51,157 --> 00:13:56,371 to glue and screw the sole of the feet. 236 00:13:56,371 --> 00:13:58,796 We need to increase the production." 237 00:13:58,796 --> 00:14:02,787 "Excuse me?" -- I could not believe! 238 00:14:04,847 --> 00:14:11,404 And then he said, "No, we can modify the workbench, 239 00:14:11,404 --> 00:14:14,483 maybe to put a special stool, a special anvil, 240 00:14:14,483 --> 00:14:18,441 a special device, and maybe an electrical screwdriver." 241 00:14:18,441 --> 00:14:22,029 I said, "It's insane! 242 00:14:22,029 --> 00:14:24,627 And it's even cruel to think of anything like this! 243 00:14:24,627 --> 00:14:28,195 That's a production line, and a very fast one. 244 00:14:28,195 --> 00:14:32,271 It's cruel to offer him a job, 245 00:14:32,271 --> 00:14:36,121 knowing that he's going to fail." 246 00:14:36,921 --> 00:14:41,131 But with Najmuddin, we cannot discuss, so... 247 00:14:41,131 --> 00:14:42,574 (Laughter) 248 00:14:44,054 --> 00:14:46,915 The only thing I could manage to obtain 249 00:14:46,915 --> 00:14:51,171 was a kind of compromise, 250 00:14:51,171 --> 00:14:53,705 "Only one week, one week trial, 251 00:14:53,705 --> 00:14:55,923 not a single day more." 252 00:14:59,176 --> 00:15:02,204 One week later, Mahmoud was the fastest 253 00:15:02,204 --> 00:15:04,229 in the production line. 254 00:15:06,550 --> 00:15:09,025 I told Nahjmuddin, "That's a trick!" 255 00:15:09,025 --> 00:15:10,000 (Laughter) 256 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,575 "I can't believe it!" The production was 20% up! 257 00:15:13,575 --> 00:15:16,265 "It's a trick, it's a trick!", I said. 258 00:15:16,265 --> 00:15:21,084 And then, I asked for a verification: it was true. 259 00:15:21,814 --> 00:15:24,203 [Najmuddin's comment] was: 260 00:15:24,203 --> 00:15:27,066 "Mahmoud has something to prove." 261 00:15:27,836 --> 00:15:30,943 I remember, Mahmoud -- he got the job of course -- 262 00:15:30,943 --> 00:15:35,026 is the one sitting on the left. 263 00:15:39,145 --> 00:15:43,649 He got the job, of course, and then it was incredible. 264 00:15:43,649 --> 00:15:49,626 I understood I was wrong again. Mahmood looked taller. 265 00:15:49,626 --> 00:15:56,204 I remember him sitting behind the workbench, smiling. 266 00:15:56,204 --> 00:16:00,413 He was a new man, tall again. 267 00:16:01,466 --> 00:16:07,743 Of course, I understood that what made him stand tall -- 268 00:16:07,743 --> 00:16:09,625 yeah, well, the legs, thank you very much -- 269 00:16:09,625 --> 00:16:14,401 but as a first step, it was the dignity. 270 00:16:14,401 --> 00:16:19,315 He has regained his full dignity thanks to that job. 271 00:16:20,038 --> 00:16:21,615 So, of course, I understood 272 00:16:21,615 --> 00:16:26,471 and then we started a new policy, completely different. 273 00:16:26,471 --> 00:16:30,506 Now, we decided to employ as many disabled [people] as possible, 274 00:16:30,506 --> 00:16:33,610 to train them in any possible job. 275 00:16:33,610 --> 00:16:37,817 It became a policy of positive discrimination, 276 00:16:37,817 --> 00:16:40,164 [as] we call it now. 277 00:16:40,904 --> 00:16:42,881 And you know what? 278 00:16:42,881 --> 00:16:44,444 It' s good for everybody. 279 00:16:44,444 --> 00:16:47,140 Everybody benefits from that: 280 00:16:47,140 --> 00:16:49,122 those employed, of course, 281 00:16:49,122 --> 00:16:54,223 because they get a job and dignity. 282 00:16:54,223 --> 00:16:58,143 But also for the newcomers. They are 7,000 every year, 283 00:16:58,143 --> 00:17:00,686 people coming in for the first time. 284 00:17:00,686 --> 00:17:02,420 And you should see the face of these people 285 00:17:02,420 --> 00:17:05,943 when they realized that those assisting them are like them. 286 00:17:05,943 --> 00:17:10,483 Sometimes you see them, they look... "Oh!" 287 00:17:10,483 --> 00:17:12,263 And you see their face 288 00:17:12,263 --> 00:17:17,304 and the surprise turns into hope. 289 00:17:19,384 --> 00:17:22,778 And it's easy for me as well to train someone 290 00:17:22,778 --> 00:17:25,644 who has already passed through the experience of disability. 291 00:17:26,164 --> 00:17:28,103 They learn much faster. 292 00:17:28,103 --> 00:17:31,448 The motivation, the empathy they can establish with the patient 293 00:17:31,448 --> 00:17:34,074 is completely different, completely. 294 00:17:35,254 --> 00:17:37,905 Scraps of men do not exist. 295 00:17:37,905 --> 00:17:43,265 People like Mahmoud are agents of change. 296 00:17:43,265 --> 00:17:46,421 And, when you start changing, you cannot stop. 297 00:17:46,421 --> 00:17:48,388 So, employing people, yes, 298 00:17:48,388 --> 00:17:54,733 but also we started a program of microfinance education 299 00:17:54,733 --> 00:17:58,864 and -- sorry, this machine. 300 00:17:58,864 --> 00:18:01,760 That's Najmuddin, the one with the white coat. 301 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:04,376 Terrible Najmuddin, he's that one. 302 00:18:04,376 --> 00:18:11,922 And when you start you cannot stop, so you do vocational training, 303 00:18:11,922 --> 00:18:17,414 microfinance, home education for those who cannot go to school. 304 00:18:21,025 --> 00:18:27,574 Physiotherapy can also be done at home, not only... 305 00:18:29,964 --> 00:18:32,629 Physiotherapy can be done in an orthopaedic center, 306 00:18:32,629 --> 00:18:35,805 but also in the houses of the people. 307 00:18:35,805 --> 00:18:39,130 There is always a better way to do things. 308 00:18:40,385 --> 00:18:45,119 I have learned a lot from people like Najmuddin, Mahmoud, Rafi. 309 00:18:45,119 --> 00:18:46,935 They are my teachers. 310 00:18:46,935 --> 00:18:52,414 I have a wish, a big wish, that this way of working, 311 00:18:52,414 --> 00:18:57,050 this way of thinking is going to be implemented in other countries. 312 00:18:58,089 --> 00:19:01,713 There are plenty of countries at war, like Afghanistan. 313 00:19:02,303 --> 00:19:05,915 It is possible and it is not difficult. 314 00:19:05,915 --> 00:19:09,156 All we have to do is to -- 315 00:19:13,293 --> 00:19:14,565 how can I say it? -- 316 00:19:14,958 --> 00:19:19,771 is to listen to the people that we are supposed to assist, 317 00:19:20,715 --> 00:19:25,434 to make them part of the decision-making process, 318 00:19:25,434 --> 00:19:28,857 and then, of course, to adapt. 319 00:19:28,857 --> 00:19:32,280 This is my big wish. 320 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,303 Well, don't think the changes in Afghanistan are over. 321 00:19:35,303 --> 00:19:37,369 Not at all. We are going on. 322 00:19:37,369 --> 00:19:40,519 Recently, we have just started a program, 323 00:19:40,519 --> 00:19:46,325 a sport program: basketball for wheelchair users. 324 00:19:46,755 --> 00:19:49,023 We transport wheelchairs everwhere in the country. 325 00:19:49,023 --> 00:19:54,552 We have several teams now, in many parts of Afghanistan. 326 00:19:54,552 --> 00:19:59,059 At the beginning, when Najmuddin told me, 327 00:19:59,609 --> 00:20:03,305 "We would like to start it.", I hesitated, I said, "No!" 328 00:20:03,305 --> 00:20:06,746 Can you imagine? I said, "No, no, no, we can't." 329 00:20:06,746 --> 00:20:10,372 And then I asked the usual question, "Is it a priority? 330 00:20:10,372 --> 00:20:14,036 Is it really necessary?" 331 00:20:14,036 --> 00:20:15,600 Well, now you should see me. 332 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,725 I never miss a single training session. 333 00:20:18,725 --> 00:20:21,712 The night before a match, I'm very nervous, 334 00:20:21,712 --> 00:20:25,239 and you should see me during the match. 335 00:20:25,239 --> 00:20:28,510 I shout, well like a true Italian! 336 00:20:28,510 --> 00:20:31,005 (Laughter) 337 00:20:31,005 --> 00:20:35,493 What's next? What is going to be the next change? 338 00:20:35,973 --> 00:20:38,927 I don't know yet, but I'm sure that Najmuddin and his friends, 339 00:20:38,927 --> 00:20:42,145 they already have [something] in mind. 340 00:20:42,145 --> 00:20:44,134 That was my story. Thank you very much. 341 00:20:44,134 --> 00:20:46,237 (Applauses)