I've been in Afghanistan for 21 years. I work for the Red Cross and I'm a physical therapist. My job is to make arms and legs -- well it's not completely true. We do more than that. We provide the patients, the Afghan disabled, first with the physical rehabilitation then with the social reintegration. It's a very logical plan, but it was not always like this. For many years, we were just providing them with artificial limbs. It took quite many years for the program to become what it is now.
我在阿富汗已經21年。 我為紅十字會工作, 我是一名物理治療師。 我的工作是製作胳膊和腿 -- 恩,這不完全是事實。 我們做的還不止這些。 我們提供給患者, 阿富汗的殘疾人, 首先是身體康復, 然後重返社會。 這是一個非常合理的計劃, 但它並不是總是這樣。 多年來,我們只是給他們 提供義肢。 花了很多年的程序 才讓這計劃成為現在的模樣。
Today, I would like to tell you a story, the story of a big change, and the story of the people who made this change possible. I arrived in Afghanistan in 1990 to work in a hospital for war victims. And then, not only for war victims, but it was for any kind of patient. I was also working in the orthopedic center, we call it. This is the place where we make the legs. At that time I found myself in a strange situation. I felt not quite ready for that job. There was so much to learn. There were so many things new to me. But it was a terrific job. But as soon as the fighting intensified, the physical rehabilitation was suspended. There were many other things to do. So the orthopedic center was closed because physical rehabilitation was not considered a priority. It was a strange sensation. Anyway, you know every time I make this speech -- it's not the first time -- but it's an emotion. It's something that comes out from the past. It's 21 years, but they are still all there.
今天,我想告訴你一個故事, 一個巨大轉變的故事, 和那些讓這種變化 得以發生的人們。 我在1990年抵達 阿富汗的醫院 為戰爭受害者 治療。 然後,不僅為戰爭受害者, 而是任何類型的病人。 我也有在我們稱為 復健中心的地方工作。 這是我們製造義腿的地方。 當時, 我發現自己 處於一個奇怪的狀況。 我覺得自己並沒有準備好 要做這項工作。 還有好多的需要學習。 有這麼多對我是新的事物。 但它是一項了不起的工作。 但只要戰爭加劇, 身體復原進程便暫停。 還有許多其他事情要做。 因此,復原中心便被關閉, 因為身體復原 不被認為是最重要的。 這是一個奇怪的感覺。 無論如何,你知道每次我做這個演講 -- 這不是第一次 -- 但它的一種情感。 它是被過往觸發的東西。 經過21年, 但那些情緒仍然都在那裡。
Anyway, in 1992, the Mujahideen took all Afghanistan. And the orthopedic center was closed. I was assigned to work for the homeless, for the internally displaced people. But one day, something happened. I was coming back from a big food distribution in a mosque where tens and tens of people were squatting in terrible conditions. I wanted to go home. I was driving. You know, when you want to forget, you don't want to see things, so you just want to go to your room, to lock yourself inside and say, "That's enough." A bomb fell not far from my car -- well, far enough, but big noise. And everybody disappeared from the street. The cars disappeared as well. I ducked. And only one figure remained in the middle of the road. It was a man in a wheelchair desperately trying to move away.
無論如何,在1992年, 聖戰者接管了整個阿富汗。 復健中心被關閉了。 我被分配為去照顧遊民, 為無家可歸者工作。 但是有一天,有事情發生了。 我從一所 境極其惡劣的清真寺內, 給暫時安置的人群 分配糧食回來了。 我想回家。我正在開車。 你知道,當你想忘記, 你不想看到事情, 你只想走進你的房間,把自己鎖在裡面 說,「夠了。」 一個炸彈從離我的車的不遠處砸下-- 嗯, 雖然距離夠遠, 但聲響很大。 每個人都從街頭消失。 車全都消失。 我閃避了。 只有一個身影 仍然在路中心。 這是一個坐在輪椅上的男人 極度努力試圖移開。
Well I'm not a particularly brave person, I have to confess it, but I could not just ignore him. So I stopped the car and I went to help. The man was without legs and only with one arm. Behind him there was a child, his son, red in the face in an effort to push the father. So I took him into a safe place. And I ask, "What are you doing out in the street in this situation?" "I work," he said. I wondered, what work? And then I ask an even more stupid question: "Why don't you have the prostheses? Why don't you have the artificial legs?" And he said, "The Red Cross has closed." Well without thinking, I told him "Come tomorrow. We will provide you with a pair of legs." The man, his name was Mahmoud, and the child, whose name was Rafi, left. And then I said, "Oh, my God. What did I say? The center is closed, no staff around. Maybe the machinery is broken. Who is going to make the legs for him?" So I hoped that he would not come. This is the streets of Kabul in those days. So I said, "Well I will give him some money."
我不是一個特別勇敢的人, 我得先承認, 但我就是不能不理他。 所以我停下車 去幫忙。 該名男子沒有腿, 而且只有一隻手臂。 在他的身後有一個孩子,他的兒子, 面紅耳赤地 在努力推動父親。 我帶他到一個安全的地方。 我問:「你為什麼在這種情況下 還留在街上呢?」 「我的工作,」他說。 我在想,什麼工作? 然後,我問一個更愚蠢的問題: 「為什麼你沒有義肢? 為什麼你沒有義腿?」 他說:「紅十字會已關閉。」 我想都沒有想,我告訴他: 「你明天來吧。 我們給你提供一雙腿。」 該名男子,他的名字是Mahmoud, 和他的兒子,Rafi, 離開了。 然後我說:「噢,我的天。我說了什麼? 該中心是關閉的, 沒有工作人員。 說不定機器壞了。 誰來為他製造腿?」 所以,我希望他不會來。 這是是喀布爾的街道 當時的樣子。 所以我說: 「好吧,我會給他一些錢。」
And so the following day, I went to the orthopedic center. And I spoke with a gatekeeper. I was ready to tell him, "Listen, if someone such-and-such comes tomorrow, please tell him that it was a mistake. Nothing can be done. Give him some money." But Mahmoud and his son were already there. And they were not alone. There were 15, maybe 20, people like him waiting. And there was some staff too. Among them there was my right-hand man, Najmuddin. And the gatekeeper told me, "They come everyday to see if the center will open." I said, "No. We have to go away. We cannot stay here." They were bombing -- not very close -- but you could hear the noise of the bombs. So, "We cannot stay here, it's dangerous. It's not a priority." But Najmuddin told me, "Listen now, we're here." At least we can start repairing the prostheses, the broken prostheses of the people and maybe try to do something for people like Mahmoud." I said, "No, please. We cannot do that. It's really dangerous. We have other things to do." But they insisted. When you have 20 people in front of you, looking at you and you are the one who has to decide ...
到第二天, 我去了復健中心。 我與看門人說, 我準備告訴他, 「聽著,如果明天有這麼樣一個人來訪, 請告訴他,這是一個錯誤。 沒有什麼是我們可以為他做的。 給他一些錢吧。」 但Mahmoud和他的兒子已經來到。 而他們並不是獨自來。 有15個,也許20個,像他的人們在等著。 並且有一些工作人員。 其中有我的得力助手, Najmuddin。 看門人告訴我, 「他們每天都來看看中心是否會開放。」 我說:「不。 我們必須離開。我們不能呆在這裡。」 外面在被轟炸 -- 雖然不是很近 -- 但你可以聽到炸彈的聲音。 因此 「我們不能呆在這裡,這裡是危險的。 並不是緊急的事情。」 但Najmuddin告訴我:「聽着,我們現在在這裡。 至少我們可以開始修復義肢,他們斷掉的義肢, 也許嘗試協助 像Mahmoud的人。」 我說:「不,拜託。我們不能這樣做。 這樣真得很危險。 我們有其他的事情要做。」 但他們堅持, 當你有20個人在你面前, 看著你, 而你是那個得做決定的人.....
So we started doing some repairs. Also one of the physical therapists reported that Mahmoud could be provided with a leg, but not immediately. The legs were swollen and the knees were stiff, so he needed a long preparation. Believe me, I was worried because I was breaking the rules. I was doing something that I was not supposed to do. In the evening, I went to speak with the bosses at the headquarters, and I told them -- I lied -- I told them, "Listen, we are going to start a couple of hours per day, just a few repairs." Maybe some of them are here now.
因此,我們開始做一些維修。 其中一個物理治療師, 告訴我可以為Mahmoud 提供一條腿, 但沒辦法馬上。 他的雙腿腫脹, 而且膝蓋僵硬, 他需要一段長時間的準備。 相信我,我當時很擔心, 因為我打破了規則。 我在做一些 我不應該做的事。 那天晚上, 我去與總部的老闆們談話, 我告訴他們 -- 我撒了謊 -- 我告訴他們:「聽著,我們將從 每天幾個小時開始, 進行一些少量的修復。」 現在也許他們其中的一些也坐在這裡。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
So we started. I was working, I was going everyday to work for the homeless. And Najmuddin was staying there, doing everything and reporting on the patients. He was telling me, "Patients are coming." We knew that many more patients could not come, prevented by the fighting. But people were coming. And Mahmoud was coming every day. And slowly, slowly week after week his legs were improving. The stump or cast prosthesis was made, and he was starting the real physical rehabilitation. He was coming every day, crossing the front line. A couple of times I crossed the front line in the very place where Mahmoud and his son were crossing. I tell you, it was something so sinister that I was astonished he could do it every day.
我們就這樣開始了。 我當時還在工作,我每天得去為 那些無家可歸的人工作。 而Najmuddin留在復健中心那裡, 負責一切和報告病人的狀況。 他會告訴我:「病人都來了。」 我們知道有更多的患者 不能前來,因戰事阻止了他們。 但人們仍是來了。 Mahmoud每一天都來。 慢慢地,慢慢地, 一周後又一周後, 他雙腿的情況逐漸改善。 殘端或義體做好了, 和他的身體 開始真正康復。 他每天來, 穿越前線。 有幾次我穿過前線,在Mahmoud 和他的兒子走過的位置。 我告訴你,它是如此險惡, 我對他每天能做到這一點感到很非常震驚。
But finally, the great day arrived. Mahmoud was going to be discharged with his new legs. It was April, I remember, a very beautiful day. April in Kabul is beautiful, full of roses, full of flowers. We could not possibly stay indoors, with all these sandbags at the windows. Very sad, dark. So we chose a small spot in the garden. And Mahmoud put on his prostheses, the other patients did the same, and they started practicing for the last time before being discharged.
終於,美好的一天來到了。 Mahmoud是要帶著他 新的腿出院。 這是4月,我記得, 是一個天氣非常好的一天。 4月的喀布爾是美麗的, 佈滿玫瑰,佈滿鮮花。 我們實在不可能留在室內, 當這些窗口前被放滿沙袋。 很憂愁,黑暗。 所以我們在花園裡選擇了一個角落。 Mahmoud把他的義肢裝上, 其他患者也做了同樣的事, 他們開始進行出院前的 最後一次練習。
Suddenly, they started fighting. Two groups of Mujahideen started fighting. We could hear in the air the bullets passing. So we dashed, all of us, towards the shelter. Mahmoud grabbed his son, I grabbed someone else. Everybody was grabbing something. And we ran. You know, 50 meters can be a long distance if you are totally exposed, but we managed to reach the shelter. Inside, all of us panting, I sat a moment and I heard Rafi telling his father, "Father, you can run faster than me." (Laughter) And Mahmoud, "Of course I can. I can run, and now you can go to school. No need of staying with me all the day pushing my wheelchair." Later on, we took them home. And I will never forget Mahmoud and his son walking together pushing the empty wheelchair. And then I understood, physical rehabilitation is a priority. Dignity cannot wait for better times.
突然,又開始作戰。 兩組聖戰者展開戰鬥。 我們可以在空中 聽到子彈經過。 因此,我們所有人 緊急逃避往房內。 Mahmoud一把抓住他的兒子,我抓住了別人。 每個人都抓住了什麼。 我們拔腿狂奔。 你知道,如果你是完全暴露空曠的環境, 50公尺可以是一段很長的距離, 但我們始終逃避到房內。 進到屋內, 所有人在喘着氣, 我坐了一會兒,聽到Rafi告訴他的父親, 「“父親,你可以比我跑得更快。」 (笑聲) Mahmoud道: 「我當然可以。 我可以跑了,現在你可以去上學。 不用整天待在我身旁 推我的輪椅。」 後來,我們帶他們回家。 而我永遠不會忘記 Mahmoud和他的兒子走在一起, 推着空的輪椅。 然後,我明白了, 身體復原其實一個最重要的事項。 尊嚴不能等待更好的時候才開始。
From that day on, we never closed a single day. Well sometimes we were suspended for a few hours, but we never, we never closed it again. I met Mahmoud one year later. He was in good shape -- a bit thinner. He needed to change his prostheses -- a new pair of prostheses. I asked about his son. He told me, "He's at school. He'd doing quite well." But I understood he wanted to tell me something. So I asked him, "What is that?" He was sweating. He was clearly embarrassed. And he was standing in front of me, his head down. He said, "You have taught me to walk. Thank you very much. Now help me not to be a beggar anymore." That was the job. "My children are growing. I feel ashamed. I don't want them to be teased at school by the other students." I said, "Okay." I thought, how much money do I have in my pocket? Just to give him some money. It was the easiest way. He read my mind, and he said, "I ask for a job." And then he added something I will never forget for the rest of my life. He said, "I am a scrap of a man, but if you help me, I'm ready to do anything, even if I have to crawl on the ground." And then he sat down. I sat down too with goosebumps everywhere.
從那天起,我們沒有一天關閉。 有時我們被迫暫停幾個小時, 但我們從來沒有,從來沒有再次關閉它。 我一年後會見了Mahmoud。 他的狀態良好 -- 消瘦了一點。 他需要更換他的義肢 -- 一雙新的義肢。 我問起他的兒子。 他告訴我:「他在學校,念得不錯。」 但我知道他想告訴我一些東西。 於是我問他:「怎麼了?」 他大汗淋漓。 他顯然非常尷尬。 他站在我面前, 低著頭。 他說,「你教我走路, 非常感謝你。 現在請幫助我變成不是一個乞丐。」 這就是要委託給我的工作。 「我的孩子們在成長, 我覺得丟臉。 我不希望他們在學校 被其他同學取笑。」 我說:「好吧。」 我在想,在我的口袋裡究竟多少錢呢? 只要給他一些錢。 這是最簡單的方法。 他意會了我所想的, 他說:「我是想要一份工作。」 然後他補充說了一些 我這輩子都不會忘記的話。 他說:「我這個人是一塊廢料, 但如果你幫我, 我願意做任何事情, 即使我得要在地面上爬。」 然後,他坐下來。 我也坐了下來,全身起了雞皮疙瘩。
Legless, with only one arm, illiterate, unskilled -- what job for him? Najmuddin told me, "Well we have a vacancy in the carpentry shop." "What?" I said, "Stop." "Well yes, we need to increase the production of feet. We need to employ someone to glue and to screw the sole of the feet. We need to increase the production." "Excuse me?" I could not believe. And then he said, "No, we can modify the workbench maybe to put a special stool, a special anvil, special vice, and maybe an electric screwdriver." I said, "Listen, it's insane. And it's even cruel to think of anything like this. That's a production line and a very fast one. It's cruel to offer him a job knowing that he's going to fail." But with Najmuddin, we cannot discuss. So the only things I could manage to obtain was a kind of a compromise. Only one week -- one week try and not a single day more. One week later, Mahmoud was the fastest in the production line. I told Najmuddin, "That's a trick. I can't believe it." The production was up 20 percent. "It's a trick, it's a trick," I said. And then I asked for verification. It was true.
沒有腿,只有一隻手臂, 文盲, 沒有熟練技術 -- 他可以做什麼呢? Najmuddin告訴我:「我們有一個 木工的空缺。」 「什麼?」我說:「等等 。」 「嗯,是的,我們需要增加義腳的生產, 我們需要聘請人 為腳底塗膠水和上螺絲。 我們需要增加生產。」 「什麼?」 我簡直不敢相信。 然後他說: 「沒問題,我們可以修改工作台, 也許放一張特殊的凳子, 一個特殊的砧,特殊的副, 也許一個電動螺絲刀。」 我說:「聽著,這太瘋狂。 這個點子連用想的都太殘酷了。 這是一條非常快生產線。 給他一份, 明知他註定要失敗的工作 是殘酷的。」 但面對Najmuddin,沒有討論的空間。 所以我唯一爭取到的 是一種妥協。 只是一個星期 -- 一個星期試用, 一天也不能更多。 一個星期後, Mahmoud是在生產線上最快的。 我對Najmuddin說: 「這肯定做了什麼手腳, 我不能相信。」 生產增長了20%。 「肯定是騙術,是騙術,」我說。 然後我核查。 是真的。
The comment of Najmuddin was Mahmoud has something to prove. I understood that I was wrong again. Mahmoud had looked taller. I remember him sitting behind the workbench smiling. He was a new man, taller again. Of course, I understood that what made him stand tall -- yeah they were the legs, thank you very much -- but as a first step, it was the dignity. He has regained his full dignity thanks to that job. So of course, I understood. And then we started a new policy -- a new policy completely different. We decided to employ as many disabled as possible to train them in any possible job. It became a policy of "positive discrimination," we call it now.
Najmuddin說這是因為Mahmoud想要證明些甚麼。 我明白 我又再次的錯了。 Mahmoud像是長高了。 我記得他坐在工作抬後微笑着。 他是一個新的人, 再次挺身。 當然,我明白 是什麼讓他挺起胸膛 -- 是他的腿,非常感謝你 -- 但作為第一步, 是尊嚴。 因為這項工作, 他已經恢復了 他全部的尊嚴。 我當然了解。 所以接著,我們開始了新的政策 -- 一個完全不同的新政策。 我們決定盡可能 雇用更多殘疾的人, 訓練他們做任何有可能的工作。 現在我們把它稱為 一個「積極的歧視政策」 。
And you know what? It's good for everybody. Everybody benefits from that -- those employed, of course, because they get a job and dignity. But also for the newcomers. They are 7,000 every year -- people coming for the first time. And you should see the faces of these people when they realize that those assisting them are like them. Sometimes you see them, they look, "Oh." And you see the faces. And then the surprise turns into hope. And it's easy for me as well to train someone who has already passed through the experience of disability. Poof, they learn much faster -- the motivation, the empathy they can establish with the patient is completely different, completely. Scraps of men do not exist.
你知道嗎? 這是對所有人都有好處。 每個人都有所受益-- 當然, 包括那些被僱用的人, 因為他們找到一份工作 和尊嚴。 但對新加入的病人也是。 每年有7000 -- 人首次到來中心。 你要看看這些人的面孔, 當他們看到,協助他們的人是像他們一樣。 有時你看到他們, 他們的樣子是,「啊。」 你着看他們的表情。 然後驚喜變成希望。 而對我來說,要培訓已經經過 殘疾經驗的人是很容易的。 噗,他們學得更快 -- 他們的動機, 他們可以與病人建立的換位思考 是完全不同的,完全不同。 人不再是一塊廢料。
People like Mahmoud are agents of change. And when you start changing, you cannot stop. So employing people, yes, but also we started programming projects of microfinance, education. And when you start, you cannot stop. So you do vocational training, home education for those who cannot go to school. Physical therapies can be done, not only in the orthopedic center, but also in the houses of the people. There is always a better way to do things. That's Najmuddin, the one with the white coat. Terrible Najmuddin, is that one. I have learned a lot from people like Najmuddin, Mahmoud, Rafi. They are my teachers.
像Mahmoud這樣的人 是改革的推動者。 當你開始改變,你便不能停止。 所以聘用人,是的, 但我們也開始編程小額信貸, 教育。 而當你開始,你便不能停止。 所以,你便開始職業培訓, 對於那些不能上學,提供家庭教育。 物理治療不僅在骨科中心可以做, 在家裡也可以。 什麼事情,總可以找到一種更好的方式來做。 這是 Najmuddin,穿白衣的那個。 可怕的Najmuddin,便是那個。 我從像Najmuddin, Mahmoud, Rafi的人身上學到了很多。 他們是我的老師。
I have a wish, a big wish, that this way of working, this way of thinking, is going to be implemented in other countries. There are plenty of countries at war like Afghanistan. It is possible and it is not difficult. All we have to do is to listen to the people that we are supposed assist, to make them part of the decision-making process and then, of course, to adapt. This is my big wish.
我有一個願望,一個很大的願望, 這種工作方式,這種思維方式, 可以在其他國家實施。 有很多如阿富汗在戰爭的國家。 它是可能的,而且並不困難。 我們所要做的是 聽着我們應該 協助的人, 使得他們成為 決策過程中的一部分, 然後,當然,去適應。 這是我最大的願望。
Well don't think that the changes in Afghanistan are over; not at all. We are going on. Recently we have just started a program, a sport program -- basketball for wheelchair users. We transport the wheelchairs everywhere. We have several teams in the main part of Afghanistan. At the beginning, when Anajulina told me, "We would like to start it," I hesitated. I said, "No," you can imagine. I said, "No, no, no, no, we can't." And then I asked the usual question: "Is it a priority? Is it really necessary?" Well now you should see me. I never miss a single training session. The night before a match I'm very nervous. And you should see me during the match. I shout like a true Italian.
不要認為,在阿富汗的變化已經完結; 一點都不是。我們還在繼續。 最近,我們剛開始一個項目, 一個體育項目 -- 讓輪椅使用者打的籃球。 我們將輪椅到處運送。 在阿富汗主要部分我們有幾支球隊。 在開始的時候, 當 Anajulina告訴我,說: 「我們想開始這個計畫」, 我猶豫了一下。 我說:「不 」, 你可以想像得到。 我說:「不,不,不,不,我們不能。」 然後我問我照例的問題: 「它是一個優先事項嗎? 是真的有必要嗎?」 現在你應該看看我。 我不會錯過任何一個培訓集會。 在比賽前的夜晚我會很緊張。 你應看看我在看比賽中的樣子。 我喊得像一個真正的意大利人。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
What's next? What is going to be the next change? Well I don't know yet, but I'm sure Najmuddin and his friends, they have it already in mind.
下一步是什麼呢?未來的變化將是什麼? 嗯,我還不知道, 但我敢肯定,Najmuddin和他的朋友, 的心中已經構想好了。
That was my story. Thank you very much.
那是我的故事。非常感謝你們。
(Applause)
(掌聲)