Posted on 08/08/2007 2:06:12 PM PDT by lizol
Afghani children visit Poland
03.08.2007
Children from Afghanistan have arrive on a visit to Poland organised by the Polish troops stationed in Afghanistan,
Agnieszka Bielawska reports
Polish troops stationed in Afghanistan amount to some 1200 , a similar number of Polish soldiers serves in Iraq as part of the Multinational Corps. The presence of Poland in both Iraq and Afghanistan is not only limited to strict military missions. Polish soldiers also conduct humanitarian aid actions.
It was the Polish soldiers stationed in Iraq who made it possible for a 10 month Iraqi girl to come to Poland and undergo a serious heart surgery. The operation was conducted in Wroclaw in the south west and now little Jannat has left the intensive care ward and is recovering . Jannat’s father and grandfather who accompany the little girl took her out for a walk, the first after eight days in hospital. Basim,
Jannat’s grandfather, who works as a translator for Polish soldiers in Iraq said that Polish doctors are satisfied with the operation and hope for a speedy rehabilitation.
Basim adds that the surgery would have been impossible in Iraq, and that owe it to Edyta Gorlicka who organised Jannat’s surgery. Edyta, who is a civilian stationed with the Polish troops in Diwanija , deals with humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people in the region. She visited the little girl in hospital seeing her in fact for the very first time
“I dealt with all formalities and organisation not knowing the girl. I learned about her state from Basim and decided we have to help. Jannat was in Baghdad and I in Diwanija. There were a lot of procedures to be overcome but we managed. Seeing her now I do not believe she had such a serious operation. She is smiling and happy it really is a success.”
The formalities included visas , military permissions and Edyta says that the Prime Minister’s office and the Polish Foreign Ministry did help a lot and also allowed little Jannat to arrive in Poland in the government plane.
Jannat will spend some two weeks in the clinic in Wroclaw. Then she will be transferred to Zagan to a cardiological hospital for rehabilitation.
“I like Poland and the Polish sea, the Polish people are nice and educated. I hope that we can come again some time and visit Poland.”
8 year old Ahmed from Afghanistan has arrived on the Baltic coast together with some 20 more children from Afghanistan. The kids come from the Paktika province in south eastern Afghanistan where the Polish troops are stationed. The children visited the city of Kolobrzeg, Gdynia . Maria Amiri , who takes care of the whole group says that the whole stay has been organised to allow the young Afghanistanis learn about Poland , tradition, culture and cuisine
“They have met Polish kids and despite the differences in culture and a language barrier they managed to find common subjects, they had fun and played games. We try to show them Poland, talk about the country and we have also prepared a special menu for them. Everything seemed to be strange and new- starting from the simplest Polish bread to more sophisticated Polish dishes.”
The summer visit to Poland has been organised by Polish soldiers from CIMIC , who deal with humanitarian aid in Afghanistan. Lieutenant commander Bartosz Zajda the spokesman of the Polish Navy says it is an important mission of the Polish troops
“Itt has a different dimension than the installment of electric generators, water purifying stations or medical aid. Organising summer camps for Afghani children in Poland is something more , it is a different personal contact and different reception. It is some kind of a relief from the life of the Polish troops in Afghanistan, a life which is not easy.”
The children from Afghanistan will spend some two weeks on the Polish coast..
What a fine thing to do.
kewl!
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