WEBVTT

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Good evening everybody.

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It's true. I have been 
in Afghanistan for 21 years.

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I work for the Red Cross,

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and I'm a physiotherapist.

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My job is to make arms and legs.

NOTE Paragraph

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Well, it's not completely true.

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We do more than that.

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We provide the patients, 
the Afghan disabled,

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first with physical rehabilitation,

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then with social reintegration.

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It's a very logical plan,

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but it was not always like this.

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For many years, 
we were just providing them 


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with artificial limbs.

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It took quite many years 


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for the program to become what it is now.

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Today, I would like to tell you a story,

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the story of a big change,

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and the story of the people 
who made this change possible.

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I arrived in Afghanistan in 1990,

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to work in a hospital for war victims,

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And then, not only for war victims;

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it was for any kind of patients.

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At that time, I found myself 
in a strange situation.

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I felt not quite ready for that job.

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There was so much to learn.

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There were so many things new to me,

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but it was a terrific job.

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I was also working 
in the orthopaedic center,

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We call it like this. It's the place 
where we make the legs.

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And, I said, it was fantastic

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but there was something strange.

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As soon as the fight intensified,

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the physical rehabilitation was suspended.

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There were many other things to do,

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so the orthopaedic center was closed,

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because physical rehabilitation 
was not considered a priority.

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It was a strange sensation.

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Anyway, I was working --

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sorry I'm a bit confused. (Sigh)

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You know, every time 
I make this speech, --

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this is not the first time -- 
it's an emotion,

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it's something that comes out 
from the past.

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It's been 21 years, 
but it's still all there.

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Anyway. In 1992 the Mujahideen 
took all Afghanistan,

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and the orthopaedic center was closed.

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I was assigned to work for the homeless, 


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for the internally displaced people.

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The orthopaedic center was closed,

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and... (Sigh) 
It was a very strange sensation.

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But one day, something happened.

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I was coming back from 
a big food distribution in a mosque,

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where tens and tens
of people were squatting

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in terrible conditions.

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I wanted to go home, I was driving,

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and, you know, when you want to forget,

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you don't want to see things.

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You just want to go to your room

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to lock yourself inside, 
and say, "That's enough."

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A bomb fell, not far from my car --

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well, far enough, 
but [making a] big noise.

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And everybody disappeared from the street.

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The cars disappeared as well.

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I docked, and only one figure remained 


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in the middle of the road.

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It was a man on a wheelchair,

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desperately trying to move away.

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Well, I'm not a particularly brave person,

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I have to confess it,

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but I could not just ignore him.

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So, I stopped the car,

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and I went to help.

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The man was without legs, 
and only with one arm.

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Behind him, there was a child, his son.

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His face was red because of his effort 
to push the father.

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So, I took him into a safe place,

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and I asked, "What are you doing 
out in the street,

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in this situation?"

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"I work", he said. 
I wondered, "What work?"

NOTE Paragraph

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And then I asked
an even more stupid question,

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"Why don't you have a prosthesis?"

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Why don't you have the artificial legs?

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And he said, "The Red Cross is closed".

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Well, without thinking,

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I told him, "Come tomorrow.

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We will provide you with a pair of legs."

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The man -- his name was Mahmoud

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and the child's name was Rafi -- left.

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Then I said, 
"Oh my god! What did I say?"

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The center is closed, no staff around,

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maybe the machinery's broken.

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Who is going to make the legs for him?"

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So I hoped that he would not come.

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These are the streets of Kabul, 
in those days.

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But, so I said, 
"I will give him some money."

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So, the following day,

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I went to the orthopaedic center

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and I spoke with the gate keeper.

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I was ready to tell him,

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"Listen, if someone, such and such, 
comes tomorrow,

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please tell him that there was a mistake.

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Nothing can be done. 
Give him some money and..."

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But Mahmoud and his son 
were already there,

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and they were not alone.

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There were 15,

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maybe 20 people like him, 
waiting. (Laughter)

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And there was some staff too.

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Among them, there was
my right-hand man, Najmuddin.

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And the gate keeper told me,

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"They come every day, 
to see if the center would open."

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I said, "No, we have to go away, 
we cannot stay here!"

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They were bombing, not very close,

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but you could hear 
the noise of the bombs.

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So, "We cannot stay here,
it's dangerous.

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It's not a priority."

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But, Najmuddin told me, 
"Listen, now we're here,

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at least we can start repairing 


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the broken prosthesis of the people

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and maybe try to do something
for people like Mahmoud."

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I said, "No, please, we cannot do that,

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it's really dangerous, 
we have other things to do."

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But they insisted.

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When you have 20 people

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in front of you, looking at you,

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and you are the one who has to decide...

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So, we started doing some repairs.

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Also, one of the physiotherapists reported

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that Mahmoud could be provided with legs,

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but not immediately.

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[His] legs were swollen, 
and [his] knees were stiff,

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so he needed a long preparation.

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Believe me: I was worried,

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because I was breaking the rules.

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I was doing something 
that I was not supposed to do!

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In the evening, I went to speak 


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with the bosses at the headquarters

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and I told them -- I lied --

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I told them, "Listen, 
we are going to start,

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a couple of hours per day, 
just a few repairs..."

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Maybe some of them [are] here now.

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(Laughter)

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So, we started. I was working.

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I was going every day to work 
for the homeless,

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and Najmuddin was staying there,

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doing everything 
and reporting on the patients.

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he was telling me, "Patients are coming".

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We knew that many more patients 
could not come

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[because of the fighting], 
but people were coming,

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and Mahmoud was coming everyday.

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And slowly, slowly, week after week,

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his legs were improving,

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the stumps were cast,

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[his] prosthesis was made,

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and he was starting 
a real physical rehabilitation.

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He was coming every day, 
crossing the front line.

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A couple of times, 
I crossed the front line

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in the very place where Mahmoud 
and his son were crossing.

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I tell you! It was something so sinister

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that I was astonished 
they could do it every day.

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But finally, the great day arrived:

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the day when Mahmoud was going to be 
discharged with his new legs.

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It was April, I remember, 
a very beautiful day.

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Kabul. April in Kabul is beautiful,

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full of roses, full of flowers.

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We could not possibly stay indoors,

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with all these sandbags in the windows.

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[It was] very sad, dark.

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So, we chose a small spot in the garden,

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and Mahmoud put on his prosthesis,

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the other patients did the same,

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and they started practicing 
for the last time,

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before being discharged.

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And suddenly, they started fighting.

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Two groups of Mujahiddeen 
started fighting.

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We could hear 
the bullets passing in the air.

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So we dashed, all of us, 
towards the shelter.

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Mahmoud grabbed his son, 
I grabbed someone else.

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Everybody was grabbing something.

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We ran. You know, 
50 meters can be a long distance,

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if you are totally exposed,

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but we managed to reach the shelter.

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(Sigh of relief) Inside, 
all of us [were] panting,

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we stopped a moment, 
and I heard Rafi, telling his father,

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"Father, you can run, faster than me!"
(Laughter)

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And Mahmoud, "Of course I can!

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I can run, and now, you can go to school.

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No need of staying with me 
all the day,

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pushing my wheelchair".

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Later on, we took them home,

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and I will never forget

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Mahmoud and his son, walking together,

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pushing the empty wheelchair.

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And then I understood.

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Physical rehabilitation is a priority.

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Dignity cannot wait for better times.

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Well, from that day on, 
we've never closed a single day.

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Well, sometimes 
we suspended it for a few hours,

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but we've never closed again.

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I met Mahmoud one year later.

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He was in good shape.

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A bit thinner.

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He needed to change his prosthesis,

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a new pair of prosthesis.

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I asked about his son, he told me,

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"He's at school, he's doing quite well."

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But I understood he wanted 
to tell me something.

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So, I asked him, "What is [it]?"

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He was sweating, 
he was clearly embarrassed

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and he was standing 
in front of me, his head down.

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He said, "You have taught me to walk.

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Thank you very much.

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Now, help me not to be 
a beggar anymore."

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That was the job.

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"My children are growing. I feel ashamed.

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I don't want them to be teased at school,


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by the other students".

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I thought, "How much money 
do I have in my pocket?

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Just give him some money? 
It's the easiest way."

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He read my mind,

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and he said, "I ask for a job."

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And then he added something

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I will never forget 
for the rest of my life.

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He said, "I am a scrap of a man, 
but if you help me,

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I'm ready to do anything,

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even if I have to crawl on the ground".

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And then he sat down, I sat down too,

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with goose bumps everywhere.

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Legless, with only one arm, 
illiterate, unskilled.

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What job [could I offer] him?

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Najmuddin told me, 
"Well, we have a vacancy 


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in the carpentry shop. We can..."

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"What?", I said. "Stop..."

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[Najmuddin]: "Well, yes, we need 
to increase the production of feet.

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We need to employ someone

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to glue and screw the sole of the feet.

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We need to increase the production."

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"Excuse me?" -- I could not believe!

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And then he said, 
"No, we can modify the workbench,

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maybe to put a special stool, 
a special anvil,

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a special device, 
and maybe an electrical screwdriver."

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I said, "It's insane!

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And it's even cruel 
to think of anything like this!

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That's a production line, 
and a very fast one.

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It's cruel to offer him a job,

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knowing that he's going to fail."

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But with Najmuddin, 
we cannot discuss, so...

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(Laughter)

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The only thing I could manage to obtain

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was a kind of compromise,

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"Only one week, one week trial,

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not a single day more."

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One week later, Mahmoud was the fastest

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in the production line.

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I told Nahjmuddin, "That's a trick!"

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(Laughter)

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"I can't believe it!" 
The production was 20% up!

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"It's a trick, it's a trick!", I said.

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And then, I asked 
for a verification: it was true.

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[Najmuddin's comment] was:

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"Mahmoud has something to prove."

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I remember, Mahmoud -- 
he got the job of course --

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is the one sitting on the left.

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He got the job, of course, 
and then it was incredible.

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I understood I was wrong again. 
Mahmood looked taller.

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I remember him sitting 
behind the workbench, smiling.

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He was a new man, tall again.

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Of course, I understood 
that what made him stand tall --

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yeah, well, the legs, 
thank you very much --

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but as a first step, it was the dignity.

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He has regained his full dignity 
thanks to that job.

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So, of course, I understood

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and then we started a new policy, 
completely different.

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Now, we decided to employ as many 
disabled [people] as possible,

00:16:30.506 --> 00:16:33.610
to train them in any possible job.

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It became a policy 
of positive discrimination,

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[as] we call it now.

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And you know what?

00:16:42.881 --> 00:16:44.444
It' s good for everybody.

00:16:44.444 --> 00:16:47.140
Everybody benefits from that:

00:16:47.140 --> 00:16:49.122
those employed, of course,

00:16:49.122 --> 00:16:54.223
because they get a job and dignity.

00:16:54.223 --> 00:16:58.143
But also for the newcomers.
They are 7,000 every year,

00:16:58.143 --> 00:17:00.686
people coming in for the first time.

00:17:00.686 --> 00:17:02.420
And you should see 
the face of these people

00:17:02.420 --> 00:17:05.943
when they realized that 
those assisting them are like them.

00:17:05.943 --> 00:17:10.483
Sometimes you see them, they look... "Oh!"

00:17:10.483 --> 00:17:12.263
And you see their face

00:17:12.263 --> 00:17:17.304
and the surprise turns into hope.

00:17:19.384 --> 00:17:22.778
And it's easy for me as well 
to train someone

NOTE Paragraph

00:17:22.778 --> 00:17:25.644
who has already passed
through the experience of disability.

00:17:26.164 --> 00:17:28.103
They learn much faster.

00:17:28.103 --> 00:17:31.448
The motivation, the empathy 
they can establish with the patient

00:17:31.448 --> 00:17:34.074
is completely different, completely.

00:17:35.254 --> 00:17:37.905
Scraps of men do not exist.

00:17:37.905 --> 00:17:43.265
People like Mahmoud are agents of change.

00:17:43.265 --> 00:17:46.421
And, when you start changing, 
you cannot stop.

00:17:46.421 --> 00:17:48.388
So, employing people, yes,

00:17:48.388 --> 00:17:54.733
but also we started a program 
of microfinance education

00:17:54.733 --> 00:17:58.864
and -- sorry, this machine.

00:17:58.864 --> 00:18:01.760
That's Najmuddin, 
the one with the white coat. 


00:18:01.760 --> 00:18:04.376
Terrible Najmuddin, he's that one.

00:18:04.376 --> 00:18:11.922
And when you start you cannot stop, 
so you do vocational training,

00:18:11.922 --> 00:18:17.414
microfinance, home education 
for those who cannot go to school.

00:18:21.025 --> 00:18:27.574
Physiotherapy can also 
be done at home, not only...

00:18:29.964 --> 00:18:32.629
Physiotherapy can be done 
in an orthopaedic center,

00:18:32.629 --> 00:18:35.805
but also in the houses of the people.

00:18:35.805 --> 00:18:39.130
There is always a better way to do things.

00:18:40.385 --> 00:18:45.119
I have learned a lot from people 
like Najmuddin, Mahmoud, Rafi.

00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:46.935
They are my teachers.

00:18:46.935 --> 00:18:52.414
I have a wish, a big wish, 
that this way of working,

00:18:52.414 --> 00:18:57.050
this way of thinking is going to be 
implemented in other countries.

00:18:58.089 --> 00:19:01.713
There are plenty of countries at war, 
like Afghanistan.

00:19:02.303 --> 00:19:05.915
It is possible and it is not difficult.

00:19:05.915 --> 00:19:09.156
All we have to do is to --

00:19:13.293 --> 00:19:14.565
how can I say it? --

00:19:14.958 --> 00:19:19.771
is to listen to the people 
that we are supposed to assist,

00:19:20.715 --> 00:19:25.434
to make them part 
of the decision-making process,

00:19:25.434 --> 00:19:28.857
and then, of course, to adapt.

00:19:28.857 --> 00:19:32.280
This is my big wish.

00:19:32.280 --> 00:19:35.303
Well, don't think the changes 
in Afghanistan are over.

00:19:35.303 --> 00:19:37.369
Not at all. We are going on.

00:19:37.369 --> 00:19:40.519
Recently, we have just started a program,

00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:46.325
a sport program: basketball 
for wheelchair users.

00:19:46.755 --> 00:19:49.023
We transport wheelchairs 
everwhere in the country.

00:19:49.023 --> 00:19:54.552
We have several teams now,
in many parts of Afghanistan.

00:19:54.552 --> 00:19:59.059
At the beginning, when Najmuddin told me,

00:19:59.609 --> 00:20:03.305
"We would like to start it.", 
I hesitated, I said, "No!"

00:20:03.305 --> 00:20:06.746
Can you imagine? 
I said, "No, no, no, we can't."

00:20:06.746 --> 00:20:10.372
And then I asked 
the usual question, "Is it a priority?

00:20:10.372 --> 00:20:14.036
Is it really necessary?" 


00:20:14.036 --> 00:20:15.600
Well, now you should see me.

00:20:15.600 --> 00:20:18.725
I never miss a single training session.

00:20:18.725 --> 00:20:21.712
The night before a match, 
I'm very nervous,

00:20:21.712 --> 00:20:25.239
and you should see me during the match.

00:20:25.239 --> 00:20:28.510
I shout, well like a true Italian!

00:20:28.510 --> 00:20:31.005
(Laughter)

00:20:31.005 --> 00:20:35.493
What's next? What is going to be 
the next change?

00:20:35.973 --> 00:20:38.927
I don't know yet, but I'm sure that 
Najmuddin and his friends,

00:20:38.927 --> 00:20:42.145
they already have [something] in mind.

00:20:42.145 --> 00:20:44.134
That was my story. Thank you very much.

00:20:44.134 --> 00:20:46.237
(Applauses)