Disabled Athletes Offer Inspiration

He still has the strong muscles of a wrestler and is an experienced player of buzkashi, an Afghan version of polo. But for the past 16 years, Hajji Abdulrahman Mohammadi has been confined to a wheelchair after gunshot wounds left both his legs paralysed.

Like thousands of Afghans, Abdulrahman bears the scars of over 20 years of violence in his homeland. But the 35-year-old has refused to allow his disability to limit his life. Instead, he has become a major patron for the disabled, representing their interests in public forums and encouraging them to participate in sports.

The United Nations estimates that there are at least 800,000 disabled people in Afghanistan. Some have suffered permanent injuries as a result of war. Others are victims of land mines – even now, 200 to 300 people suffer injuries due to land mines every month. Many children have also become disabled because of preventable diseases such as polio.

Abdulrahman, the owner of a construction company in the capital, serves are a representative for the disabled on Kabul's city assembly. He has donated thousands of dollars of his own money to provide them with sports opportunities.

And as the founder of a national federation for disabled athletes, Abdulrahman earlier this month helped select three Afghans to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens later this year.

The team is composed of Nadera, 20, who will compete in the women's wheelchair race; Khan Aqa, 20, in men's wheelchair racing; and Qaher, 19, in men's cycling.

Earlier this year, Abdulrahman established the Disabled Sports Federation, DSF. He currently serves as president of the organisation, which has 1,000 members across the country. The federation also provides money to 100 disabled athletes for training and equipment.

Abdulrahman said he has spent 16,000 US dollars of his own money to purchase athletic equipment, such as wheelchairs for racing, cycles, bodybuilding equipment and weights. The money has been used to provide a 20 dollar a month stipend for members of the federation who are in training at the national stadium.

"We need to encourage [the disabled] to take up sports and to learn to be self-confident - to know that disability can't isolate them from the rest of society," he said. "We should show that we have the ability to do any kind of work."

Wahidullah, 25, from the eastern province of Parwan, lost both legs 15 years ago after he was shot. He praised the federation's work. "Before, we were not able to come to the stadium. My recommendation to all disabled people is to take exercise to get healthy," he said.

Kaftro, 30, lost a leg 15 years ago in a rocket explosion in Kabul. She agreed that the disabled should try to have healthy bodies and souls through exercise and sport - and that their families should encourage them.

Dr Abdul Basir, who helped form DSF and serves as its secretary general, is also president of Afghan Amputee Bicyclists for Rehabilitation and Recreation. That organisation paid for two Afghans to attend the Paralympic Games in Atlanta in 1996.

Both Basir and Abdulrahman used an international conference on land mines held in Kabul in March to highlight the achievements of disabled Afghan athletes.

With representatives from 38 countries in the capital, their organisations sponsored a competition at the city's Ghazi stadium, with disabled athletes from Kabul and the three eastern provinces of Parwan, Laghman and Nangarhar participating in five cycling and wheelchair-racing events.

Those who attended and participated in the events spoke of their love of sports and asked that facilities for disabled athletes be improved.

Mohammad Din, from Parwan province, was a wrestler before he lost both his legs to a land mine explosion 19 years ago. He said he was sure that, if better training facilities were available, Afghan athletes would be able to "compete with other countries' teams".

Zulfar, 24, who lost a leg in a rocket explosion at her Kabul home, is looking forward to the chance to play volleyball, despite being discouraged from participating in such sports by her parents. She said she hopes covered facilities can be provided so that women athletes could compete separate from and without being observed by men.

Advocates for the disabled believe that sending a national team - no matter how small - to the Paralympic Games will provide a major boost for disabled sport in the country.

Sayed Mahmood Zia Dashti, deputy president of the Afghan National Olympic Committee, said he would file a request at the annual government development project meeting for money to build a modern and fully-equipped gymnasium, a swimming pool and several sports fields in Kabul for use by the disabled. He said he was optimistic that his request would be approved.

Abdulrahman remains committed to Afghanistan's participation in international disabled sporting events to help inspire others who have been injured during the years of war.

"I'm really pleased, because after two decades of war, we finally achieved peace and are able to send this team to represent Afghan disabled society," he said.

Mohammad Jawad Sharifzada is a freelance journalist for IWPR in Kabul.