DHAKA: In Bangladesh, about 10 percent of the population live with a disability. The ICRC is providing training and making available raw materials and high-quality appliances so that the Centre for the Rehablitation of the Paralysed (CRP) can enhance its services for the neediest of the disabled.
While impaired physical mobility is usually the result of accident or disease, a number of Bangladeshis have lost their limbs in politically motivated violence. Here is the story of one such young man.
Standing on his own (prosthetic) feet
The chirping of sparrows and magpie robins heralded the dawning of day at the CRP in Savar, Bangladesh. In a tiny cabin in the patient wing, nineteen-year-old Robin Miah finished carefully packing his bag for his departure.
Noticing that his uncle, Abdur Rouf, and friend, Nazmul Hasan, were following his every move, the shy teenager asked them to wait outside while he changed his clothes.
After a few minutes, Robin stepped out in a pair of khaki trousers. Rouf and Nazmul’s joy knew no bounds. They snapped photos to capture Robin’s wearing trousers for the first time in a decade.
Robin ceremoniously handed his crutch to Rouf; showing that he was ready to face the world with his newly fitted prosthetic leg and foot.
Flashback to 7 December 2003
On a chilly night in December 2003, nine-year old Robin went to a village fair near his remote home town of Dariapur in the Tangail district, 70 kms north-west of Dhaka.
The fair, called ‘failya paglar mela’, was the biggest winter event in the region. At the time, cinemas and other public places had become targets of bomb attacks.
Just after nine o’clock that night, while little Robin was mesmerized by the pink clouds called candy floss, a bomb exploded.
The weapon took the lives of seven people and injured 15 others. Both of Robin’s legs were injured. He was rushed to the local hospital and later transferred to Dhaka, where his left leg had to be amputated from above the knee.
Surgery took place on the right leg but it never became fully functional.
The indomitable
Physical disability, however, could not quench the flame of determination burning inside him. Last year, Robin’s dedicated studying allowed him to pass his high-school certificate exam with flying colours and gained him coveted admission to a public medical college in Faridpur.
During Robin’s interview with the admissions committee of the college, one of the faculty members referred to the dress code of the medical school, which Robin would have to adhere to were he to attend the institution.
This particular comment worried Robin. Ever since the misfortune of 2003, he had customarily worn the traditional sarong-like lungi, which disguised Robin’s body contours and thus shielded him from stares.
The CRP and Red Cross there to assist
In November 2013, Robin sought artificial limb support at CRP so that he could abide by the medical school dress code. The technicians made a left leg for him from scratch.
In the following weeks, Robin took gait training with a physiotherapist to ensure that the limb fitted smoothly into his stump. During his two-month stay at the CRP, Robin and Nazmul Hasan forged a deep friendship.
‘We spent quality time playing chess and watching movies. I’m really proud of Robin and hope he will be a famous doctor someday,’ said a jubilant Nazmul, who is taking a tailoring course at the CRP.
Robin does not like to plan too far ahead. Nevertheless, as the first and so far only medical student from his village, he would like to improve the health services in his rural area.
His uncle shed light on Robin’s success. ‘The locals really look up to him. They make way for him in the tea stalls out of reverence. After all, he is our first doctor in the making’.
Onchita Shadman is working as Communication Officer in International Committee of the Red Cross in Dhaka
Source: icrc.org
BDST: 1835 HRS, JAN 26, 2014
