Captured as 8-year old Spozhmay

Captured as 8-year old Spozhmay attemted to detonate a suicide vest out a police station in Helmand, Afghanistan

     At the beginning of this year I heard about the story of this little girl named Spozhmay, just 8 year old. She has been detained of wearing a suicide vest but was stopped by Afghan police while she was on the way to carry out a deadly attack on a border police station in southern Helmand province. The girl is reported to be the sister of a prominent Taliban commander.

     

The girl said to be in shock and confusion, and said in a statement that her brother, a local Taliban commander had sent her on the mission. One of the afghan soldiers has spotted her wearing a suicide jacket, but was arrested before she could carry out the attack as she struggled to operate the detonator. This has saved many peoples life including her´s. Today she has been transfered to the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah. Her brother will propably be out and watching after her, to renew another attack.

     In 2011 an eight- year old girl died after she was tricked into carrying a concealed bomb, close to a police vehicle, where it was remotely detonated. In july last year it emergerged that Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan are bribing starving children as young as 6-8 years old to plant deadly roadside booby traps, be decoys in ambushes and even act as suicide bombers. Despite the islamic fundamentalists, claiming of not using children in their ranks, extremists have been very actively recruiting orphaned and homeless young boys, train them to suing guns, improvising explosive devices (IED) and suicide vests. In return they offering them sweets and chocolote and sometimes som coins.

     An afghan boy of the age 8 was promised a handful of coins by Taliban gighters to convert him to their cause. The boy had been tending his father’s flock of sheep when coalition forces bombed his village. ”The Taliban were hiding in our house when a helicopter came and bombed us,” my father was hit in his head and heart while he was torn apart and my mother was hit and died het old, and now I have none. He was in the aftermath of the raid kidnapped by Taliban leaders, taken to a nearby village and shown how to use guns and make IED:s. They became to be his new family, they plied him with food and sweets and initally he was delighted when they said they were brig him an extra special gift – a suicide vest packed with bullets and grenades.

     Another story is about a five year old boy, who was trained to fire guns by extremists in Afghanistan. Het old that ”They made me try it on. The grenades went all around my body and then they offered me the coins (50 Afghanis)”. They told me the nto blow myself up at a checkpoint. They told me that I will go to heaven, to a better world with angels. He finally woke up and escaped, walked 9 miles to turn himself in at a police station, now at the age of 10 he lives in an orphanage in Lashkar Gah, but other children are less fortunate. Today they are 224 children in prison only in Helmand and Ghazni, arrested for planning or carrying out attacks.     

WORTH NOTHING - BUT AS CHILDREN FOR PLEASURE OR AS DEAD FOR THEIR ORGANS - THEY ARE WORTH A FORTUNE!

Afghanistan has many difficulties beside the present situation with a ongoing war, with the growing movement of the Taliban and an ongoing disagreement with the United States about Afghanistans affaires.

In this matter children remain to be the most vulnerable and delicate balance of a society, but not in Afghanistan, here they can be sacrificed in many forms. When we are talking about a society children are the foundation stone of a dream of a culture as well as a community that a society represents. Most of the democratic countries considers them to be the building bricks on which the society grows, whereas some considers them to be ”elements of pleasure, cheap labour and entertainment.” If such situation prevails in a community, such society suffers from the worst degenerative disease ever dreamt of, and Afghanistan is only one exampel of that. ”Trafficking” amongst children, girls and boys has turned to be one major menaces of a developing society. It has turned into one of the major breeding grounds after the illeagal narcotics trafficking in the already war torned and socio-economivally dilapidated nation.

    

Using children as an element for pleasure and entertainment, as an one of many tradtitons is not legal and had been banned by the Taliban administrators after 1996. In some reports, in places like Bano has given that even ”occupying forces” from the west had been taking ecources to such pleasures and entertainment 2001.
It did not show that they have been using them in sexual services. It is today more common that afghan children are beeing kidnapped on their way to school or while playing in parks or playgrounds. Even the Afghan interior minister has given that impression, that both boys and girls are abducted for both domestic and international markets, to be used for sex and labor, or now lately to provide ”human organs.” The children who are abducted, boys and girls, are kidnapped for different reason, pleasure, cheap labor or now lately of selling their organs to the international market. There is a lack of information, the cleverness of the abducters and their growing network increases abduction cases all over Afghanistan.

     Even if they got caught, they are released very soon after that with no prosecution, they are rich and very powerful. Afghnaistan and the world had changed quite a lot since 2001 and Afghanistan will surely remain to be in the back burner of the international media while the U.S running arround, having drones sent to this area to hunt al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives. Until such markets are beeing checked, corruption fighted and a functional legal system constructed we will see no changes. Short term and cosmetic changes will rather strengthen their situation and the evil child trafficking in Afghanistan.   

The limped Afghanistan - A limped society

There are many incidents, occasions and surprises in a country like Afghanistan. Naturally curious childre like to pick up strange objects, such as toy like butterfly mines that Soviet forces plant by millions all over Afghanistan. Beside all misstreatments against children and women, torture and all vilolences landmines representing, ”an insidious and persistent danger" to children and others affected by a war without an end. Endless because of the country geo political situation and that the United States declared the global war of terrorism with Afghanistan as the central part in Central asia.

    

Landmines is a serious problem in Afghanistan and children are particularly vulnerable to them in a number of ways. A first question is why did the Soviet planted them all over the country at all, and secondly who is responsible for all human damages that has resulted?

     Children in Afghanistan are as often too young and illiterate, and signs telling them of the presence of mines are useless. Also, children are far more likely to die from their mine injuries than adults. Of those children who survive, few will receive prostheses that keep up with the continued growth of their stunted limbs, and they are for ever restricted to their future. They will be depended to help the rest of their lives.

      There is a big need physical rehabilitation programmes and a mine clearance, something that the Russian society should urge to participate in as the planter. Above all, we should push for enact immediate legislation banning the production as we do with chemical weapins including the use, trade and stockpiling of land-mines. A support of a worldwide campaign on ban of this should be supported from all.

"Land-mines” are uniquely savage in the history of modern conventional warfare not only because of their appalling individual impact, but also their long-term social and economic destruction. Afghanistan is only one among least 68 countries threatened todays children and future.

     Over 110 million land-mines of various types, millions more unexploded bombs, shells and grenades, remain today hidden around the world, waiting to be triggered by the innocent and unsuspecting landmines pose particular dangers for children.    Naturally curious children are likely to pick up strange objects, such as the infamous toy-like ”butterfly” mines that Soviet forces spread by the millions in Afghanistan. They, who manage to survive explosions are likely to be more seriously injured than adults, and often permanently disabled. Even if a child's bones grow faster, a wound may require repeated amputation and a new artificial limb as often as every six months. Although the prosthesis is not likely to be available, otherd demands for medical services also mean that children injured by mines seldom receive the care they deserve.

     Land-mines destruction of Afghanistans children also strike at a war-torn country's reconstruction and development. Mining of agricultural land has led to malnutrition, famine and starvation. Mines laid along roads and tracks prevent the safe repatriation of refugees and impede the delivery of aid. "Clearing a field of mines gives life back to a local community, it gives people the chance to grow their own crops rather than rely on international assistance, it restores human dignity and promotes human security. Protecting children from these deadly threats, land mines, calls for a najor commitment to large scale mine clearance and the development of programme for mine awareness and physical rehabilitation, no matter what it should be a main question for a country who planted them. Russia should offer more help for the afghan people as they are the ground of this damage. Afghanistan has not the ability, nor the knowldge of mine clearance it is dependant on the international community. Mine removal is a lengthy and expensive business. Weapons that cost as little as $3 each to manufacture can cost up to $1,000 to remove. Land-mines can be blithely spread at rates of over 1,000 per minute, but it may take a skilled expert an entire day just to clear by hand 20-50 square metres of mine-contaminated land.

Time is going very slow, first organized de-mining operation by UN began in Afghanistan in 1990 with a single 24-man local team, today, more than 20 year later it has 3,000 Afghan de-miners on 48 clearance crews, along with 16 mine awareness teams. This is not enough, each day children women and men including international soldiers are victims of these planted landmines by Soviet. Is it not a normal requirement to Russia and Mr Putin that they are mor helpful for clearance of their own landmines? Is their no recognation of the problem from Mr Putin for all limped children, destroying their future by loosing arms, legns, eyes etc….

    But there are not only local people suffering from the war and the landmines, on example is the bravery war photographer ”Giles Duley” who lost three limps after stepping on a landmine in Afghanistan. Bu the did retur nto the country to document plight of wounded locals. In his own words it meant,

”For me documentary photography has always come with great responsibility. Not just to tell the story honestly and with empathy, but also to make sure the right people hear it. When you photograph somebody who is in pain or discomfort, they trust you to make sure the images will act as their advocate. 'Of all the stories I’ve documented, the recent work on civilian casualties in Afghanistan and the impact of landmines has felt the most important. Many of those I photographed said to me, "when you get home, show your ministers what is happening here". That has always been my ultimate goal.

'This is the first time I’ve really felt like I’ve fully completed my task as a photographer. I hope those that have trusted me with their stories will feel the same.'

Pictures and his story among others make giv eus eample of danger and importance of the present situation in Afghanistan. The solution is not the gunpower, it is rather help changing te country old pattern with social, financial and education. 

8 - year and married and brutally killed on her weddingday……..

Warning: This article may include info that is undesirable and will upset many of us, still it is the truth and shows the real life for many of the young children in Afghanistan.

She was 8-year old and we call her Fareeba. The story you will be reading about her is telling us that she did not make it to a second night of her wedding nor did she make it to her 9th or 10th birthday. The story came from a village in the district of Nimruz provincen in Afghanistan, but we can see it as one of many similar stories describing the sadness in today lives for children in Afghanistan.

     A medical doctor assigned in the main hospital in Zaranj city, the capital of the province, was “made aware” of the incident and that it was “too late to do anything for her” as well the “remote area didn’t allow them to do anything”.

    

Fareeba was one of the several daughters to a man in his late 30s. For an unknown reason he gave his daughter to the Mullah of their village for a big amount of money. It is common to marry young girls to old men, and trading their daughters for their debts or other items. The mullah was in his late 50s, he is already married and has many children with other females.
The two families hold a tribal meeting, agree on the price that the groom’s family pay to the bride’s family, and they set a date for wedding. In rural areas like this here there are no engagements or any ceremonies beforehand like there are some in the metropolitan and urban areas. Together they planned a wedding party, the wedding and Nekah (The religious process in which a woman is officially married to a man) took place and the 8-years-old bride Fareeba became the 50-years-old Mullah’s wife and property. After the celebration party was over and the sun downed. It was now time to have sex (not make love) with the 8-years-old bride .

Fareeba was just 8 years old and any normal human being will understand the fact that she knows nothing about sex or wedding or making love or virginity or sexual related topics; not even at a basic level for two reasons, one being that, ”she’s just a child ” and that in these parts of the country, nobody knows anything about these things nor they are given trainings or education about a healthy sexual life.

     The mullah takes off Fareebas clothes as well as his owns and with apparent so much happiness approaches her for sexual intercourse with the 8-years-old bride.
Because of the Mullah’s huge physique he threw himself on her and started to penetrate the girl’s vagina. After several tries that led him to failure to penetrate her vagina, the Mullah was frustrated. He failed because the 8-years-old girl who was about to die was physically thin and had a very tight vagina opening.

     The Mullah’s animal behavior, sourced him to take out the sharp knife that he always carried with himself in his pocket and tore apart the girl’s vagina from the clitoris side upwards as well as tore it downwards towards her anus in order to make the vagina larger enough so he can enter his penis into her vagina. Naturally, she started to bleed in a very bad amount, but the mullah was too annoyed for not being able to have sex with her, to care for what he did or her bleeding or her wounds that he gave her.

     Fareeba had her scarf stuffed in her mouth, crying and trying to not raise her voice because others were there in the room adjacent to or outside. It is a rule in some of the areas in Afghanistan that the groom brings out a piece of cloth that he cleaned his wife’s hymen blood with it as a proof that the girl was virgin.

The Mullah entered his penis into the girl’s severely bleeding vagina and had sexual intercourse with her on a blood-covered bed, and then got up and cleaned himself with a cloth. The girl, who now has lost everything, was bleeding and there was nobody to help her neither could the Mullah ask for help as it was a shame for him and the girl’s family (who were sitting over a cup of tea in the other room, would kill him).

      Our 8-years-old Fareeba bled and went into a traumatic shock because of both forced sex as well as severe bleeding. She had lost so much blood, it was impossible to stop. Early in the morning around 5 when the sun was about to rise, she passed away.

     According to the Mullah, she was pale and her eyes were open when she died. The bed, as he described, was all red with her blood and she was lying in her blood only. No cloth beneath her was recognizable and everything was in dried blood because a whole night had passed on the blood. Pale, because she had lost all her body’s blood. Her eyes were open as she was shivering when she died and her hands were tied in a praying position, saying her death time prayer. The Mullah called in the same person and asked him to clean up the mess around and prepare a reason to tell the others for her death. Because the man was a close friend or family of the mullah, he did whatever he could, including every piece of cloth that was bloody. They wrapped her in a piece of white clothes and called the others that she has passed away.

     That morning her family mourned her death in the saddest manner without looking for proper explanation about her death, and then took her to wash her body as a religious ritual.

The Mullah, powerful and with great influence in the village, none of the women who washed the girl’s body dared to ask or seek the reason for the wounds around her vagina. 10 am or they rallied the now-dead 8-years-old Fareema to the graveyard and buried her.

Her life ended.

But the story was not buried, many near the mullah who knew everything, were very upset and shared the story so it could be told. Another among doctors in the village who treated the girl when she was 4-5 years old asked not to be named but said: ”he was deeply saddened that incidents like that still happen in Afghanistan”. He called it one of the reasons of Afghanistan no going forward: People’s idiocy and uncivilized behaviors and traditions.

I found this story and felt that I havet o write it and showing others of the cruelty still excisting in the country.