By: Fahim Khairy
KABUL: (MEP) – Sad and miserable, Amir Mohammad a 39 year old Afghan man stands in a long line of people with walking sticks under his arms, waiting behind the gate of a local court in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. Amir looks exuding, tired and angered. ”It takes me hours to meet the judge and hand over my complaint letter”, he disappointingly said.
Amir Mohmmad was a happy man. He had two good part time jobs. One as a security guard with a UN office in his native town of Mazar-i-Sharif and another one as a taxi driver. But one bad day in the middle of April 2008, Amir’s life suddenly changed and his challenging journey begun. He was driving his taxi cab when ISAF soldiers mistaken him as a suicide bomber and shot him in the leg.
Amir sat down in his spot and wanted to tell his story.
I was driving down to the city from Selo street when I heard a loud bang and I immediately felt something hot ran into my blood and I went half unconscious. My eyes and my mouth started to dry up. There was an annoying noise in my ears. I watched my passengers, a woman and a kid ran out of the car. I wondered why I was not able to move. At first I didn’t know what happened. I thought it was a Taliban attack or something. Then I saw blood running under of foot and it was the time I understood I was shot.
Amir was left bleeding inside his cap for 15 minutes. Since people saw the soldiers opened fire on his car, they did not want to get close, thinking there might be something in the car. The ISAF convoy drove fast and left the area but minutes later they realized that they shot a civilian, they returned to pick up Amir. Amir Mohammad was taken to ISAF base near Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport. They removed the bullet from his leg and dropped him off at his home and never visited him again till today.
Since then Amir uses a walker to get around. Due to the physical injury he faced, he was fired from the UN. He later sold his taxi cab to pay off his house payment. Amir had three surgeries by local doctors, but still feels pain and can’t use his leg. The doctors told him if he keeps ignoring his diet, he might end up having his leg amputated.
”The UN office fired me because I was not able to do my job walking around the big compound at night time. I was a guard and my job totally required physical ability. I lost my car to save my house then I lost both. I couldn’t continue to pay my house payment so they stopped the contract. Now I rent the same house that I used to think it as my only home that my kids were dependent to their future on it”, Amir continued to tell his story.
Amir Mohammad’s four children aged 11, 9, 7 and 5; all got kicked out of school for not paying tuition anymore. The public school is a one and half mile walk from Amir place. They registered in the public school but soon got bullied and beat up by bigger kids on their way to school. Amir decided to keep his kids home until he could figure out a way to send them back to private school.
I am so worried about my kids. It was not just a single bullet that hit my leg. It was a storm that destroyed my life and ruined my children’s future. If I delay one more payment on my house rent, the landlord is going to kick me out. Soon my family is going to be homeless and will sleep in the street.
Before going homeless, Amir Mohammad decided to complain to Mazar-i-Sharif’s local court, hoping he might receive help and justice from there.
