Kabul - A video of a happy boy with a prosthetic leg dancing to
a tune while onlookers clap and laugh has proved popular with social
media users in Afghanistan.
The video of Ahmad Rahman, a five-year-old Afghan boy from eastern
Logar province, who received a prosthetic leg at an orthopaedic
centre in the capital Kabul, had by Friday received more than 40 000
likes and been shared by more than 12 000 users on Twitter.
Roya Musawi, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) in Afghanistan, uploaded the video on Monday, saying the
boy lost his leg to a landmine in his hometown.
Twitter user Kashif Abbasi wrote: "Nothing compares to this happiness
and suffering."
"What a lovely, cheerful and valiant boy," wrote Hameed Khatak,
another user, adding that, "The practice of Landmines must now be
stopped at once."
Ahmad received artificial limb in @ICRC_af Orthopedic center, he shows his emotion with dance after getting limbs. He come from Logar and lost his leg in a landmine. This is how his life changed and made him smile. pic.twitter.com/Sg7jJbUD2V
— Roya Musawi (@roya_musawi) May 6, 2019
According to the ICRC, a record 22,000 artificial limbs and other
orthopaedic devices were given to Afghan patients at the agency's
rehabilitation centres across the country last year.
"The record number of Afghans seeking rehabilitation assistance is a
reflection of the huge levels of need," said Alberto Cairo, the
ICRC's physical rehabilitation programme manager in Afghanistan.
The ICRC ceased most of its activities in Afghanistan following the
withdrawal of protective guarantees by the Taliban on April 11.
According to an annual report by the United Nations Assistance
Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), children accounted for 28 per cent of
civilian casualties in armed conflict in 2018.
The agency recorded 3,062 child casualties (927 deaths and 2,135
injured), with non-suicide IED (improvised explosive device) attacks
listed as the second most common cause.