Testimony: Ramish uses football to overcome landmine injuries

My name is Ramish, I am 21 years old and I work at the ICRC as an assistant orthopaedic trainer.

It was 2003 when I went out with my friends to Qasaba Park in Kabul, near the airport, for kite running. I was playing and was very happy on that day, it was sunny and windy.

All of a sudden I stepped on a mine and that is when I thought that my whole life was about to change, in a negative way of course. Just the thought of being disabled, without a leg, was driving me crazy. I had no hope and I thought this was going to be the end.

After a while, my family heard about the International Committee of the Red Cross rehabilitation centre and we came here. I was happy but I would never have imagined that I would play football again.

I was just a patient at first. Then some of my doctors told me about the football team. I was very eager to join the team and I did. At first we were just practising. Little by little, with the team, we started playing matches and went to other provinces for matches.

Football changed my life in a totally different way, positive of course. I am lucky to be part of this team. I sometimes think about my state of mind after I stepped on the mine and laugh, because I was so wrong.

I have a bright future now, I am an active part of the society and I can do things like any other human being.

When I came to orthopaedic centre, I wasn't happy, because I used to think a lot, a lot of negative thoughts. But when I started playing football, I became very fresh and very happy.

I think if I didn't play football I would be dead or extremely depressed by now. 

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