Qamargul is not alone in her pain. Her story is the story of thousands of others like her but today she looks happy because her daughter Zarina (two and half years old) has recovered from pneumonia.
Qamargul and her family were forced to leave their village in Kundoz twenty five years ago when she was only seven. She still remembers everything; gardens, neighbors, cold spring water, peace and their beloved home. But how was life after that time? She did not want to talk, but said, "it has no meaning now, we just live because we have to."
By request she begins to talk more about her life but with tears in her eyes.
"I was fifteen when my parents married me to a man because my parents needed money to feed the rest of the family. I did not know anything but was convinced to do it and accepted it as my fate. My husband and I lived in many refugee camps. Our first child was born when I was sixteen and he died after only a few months. He was sick and we did not have access to a doctor. Since then I have witnessed the death of three more of my own children, all due to various diseases. Two of my brothers have been killed by war and many other relatives as well. Sometimes I wish I could show my heart to people so they will know how much pain I have in it. But you cannot stop living, loving and laughing.
"Now I have three children. I am happy to have them. They have survived. My oldest is a son. He is eight and I have another son as well as Zarina. My husband, who is the only breadwinner in the family, has been sick for a year. He has been in bed for the last four months. He cannot do anything. I have asked relatives to help us, and sometimes they do, but often it is hard to ask them for help because most of them are in bad condition themselves. Before coming to the hospital, I asked my brother to give me a few thousand rupees and he did. But I really do not know what I will do when that Rs.6000 (about U.S. $100) is finished. I am afraid of the day that I am forced to ask my son to go and beg or look through garbage for something we can sell. I want him to go to school not be a begger. I do not know why God is doing this to us."
"It is not my first time here. Each time I found them closer to me and more honest. I come here without any worries and I know that they will help me. Everything here is free, clean and good. I know if this hospital were not here for us, my Zarina would not be here today with me. They gave her a new life. But I am illiterate and do not know how to thank them. What I can do is to ask God to protect this hospital."
