A Lighthouse in the Storm: The Italian Physiotherapist Providing Help and Hope to Afghans in a Time of Turmoil

This week marks six months since the Taliban’s climactic power takeover in Afghanistan following more than 40 years of conflict, the last 20 of them with the United States and its allies. The transition from a position of insurgency to one of governance has been far from smooth, and the last six months have been marred by insecurity and uncertainty for most Afghans. The intersecting impacts of conflict, economic collapse and drought have plunged many Afghans into poverty – UNDP estimates that up to 97% of the population could sink below the poverty line by mid-2022.¹ Food shortages have historically plagued Afghanistan, and the reduction of foreign aid flowing into the country post-Taliban takeover has resulted in rising levels of malnutrition, particularly amongst children.² In the midst of such chaos and suffering, any semblance of consistency and reliability comes as a welcome relief. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) orthopaedic centre in Kabul, one of seven within the ICRC’s wider orthopaedic programme in Afghanistan, is one such institution.

The programme is managed by Alberto Cairo, an Italian physiotherapist who arrived in Afghanistan in 1990 on his first mission with ICRC and never left. He has remained dedicated to his patients, who range from land mine amputees to sufferers of polio, for over 40 years, including during periods of heightened hostilities. His passion for his work and for humanity more broadly is encompassed in his ethos of inclusion and compassion – nearly all of the 815 staff members working at the centre have disabilities themselves. This allows for greater understanding between the centre’s employees and the patients, many of whom have experienced similar trauma, and emphasises the ability of individuals with disabilities to live rich and fulfilled lives. As well as providing employment opportunities to Afghans who would likely struggle to find work elsewhere, Cairo has helped to create vocational training workshops within the centre, as well as a micro-finance programme that provides loans for small business enterprises. Another inspiring facet of Cairo’s work has been his promotion of sport within the orthopaedic programme, rejecting the idea that ‘sport for people with disabilities (is) more of a luxury than a necessity’.³ Wheelchair basketball has been a particular success in this respect, both in terms of patient rehabilitation but also in terms of shifting societal perceptions of disability. National Afghan wheelchair basketball teams now compete abroad, sparking excitement and pride within the centre. In this way, Cairo has treated his patients for their physical ailments but has emphasised their humanity throughout this process, helping to change their own perceptions of themselves as still being whole human beings.

Since the Taliban’s transition to power six months ago, the orthopaedic centre has remained open, albeit mostly working at reduced capacity. The ICRC’s mandate is to provide assistance to all those wounded in war, regardless of which side of the conflict they fought on. As a result, combatants from all parties of the Afghan conflict including Taliban fighters and former government soldier seek Cairo’s help, often sitting together rather harmoniously in the centre’s communal waiting room. The vital treatment and relief that the centre provides to Afghans from a variety of backgrounds never stops being necessary, and therefore Cairo insists that their work will continue regardless of political changes and turmoil. His dedication to his work and his patients is nothing less than admirable – his determination not to abandon some of the most vulnerable members of Afghan society provides a welcome contrast to the apparent abandonment felt by many Afghans as a result of the American pull-out. Despite turning 70 years old later this year, Cairo is ‘not ready to stop quite yet. There’s still a lot of work to do’⁴.


¹ UNDP Press release, 9/09/2021 (https://www.undp.org/press-releases/97-percent-afghans-could-plunge-poverty-mid-2022-says-undp) 

² The Guardian picture essay, ‘Famine: new battleground for displaced Afghans’, 15/01/2022 (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/15/famine-new-battleground-for-displaced-afghans-a-photo-essay) 

³ ICRC article, ‘Helping the physically disabled in Afghanistan: A lifetime’s work’, 9/12/2020 (https://www.icrc.org/en/document/helping-disabled-afghanistan)

⁴ ICRC article, ‘Amid transition in Afghanistan, ICRC’s orthopaedic centres continue to assist’, 31/08/2021 (https://www.icrc.org/en/document/afghanistan-icrcs-centres-continue-assist)

Photo credits: Mohammad Masoud Samimi / ICRC

Written by Maura McGoldrick

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